Last night as I was laying in bed I saw that something flash in my vision. Whether it was a dream or not, I have no idea. What I do know is what it was. It was Romans 6:6-11 written and on fire. Almost immediately I knew the significance of it. The Lord was trying to show me that there is a baptism of fire to come. Something that will refine and trim and mold and purify me for His good and perfect will.

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” -Romans 6:15-18

Today, I’ve been reading through a chapter in “The Normal Christian Life” called ‘Presenting Yourselves to God’. This chapter has hit me hard and had much impact and I will have read it a second time for digestion. The thing that stands before me is this: that I am no longer my own but God’s. That I must present myself to the Lord in order to be used for His glory and purposes. This isn’t to say that He isn’t already using me for such, it’s simply that I am no longer mine.

“We cannot expect a tailor to make us a coat if we do not give him any cloth, nor a builder to build us a house if we let him have no building material; and in just the same way, we cannot expect the Lord to live out His life in us if we do not give Him our lives in which to live. Without reservations, without controversy [synonyms: contention, strife, or argument], we must give ourselves to Him to do as He pleases with us. “Present yourselves unto God” or “Offer yourselves to God” (Romans 6:13).” -pg. 96

This is not passive. It is something we must actively participate and take part in. We are to daily give ourselves to the Lord.

“By right of redemption I am God’s property, but if I would be His slave I must willingly give myself to Him, for He will never compel me.” -pg.97

“My giving of myself to the Lord must be an initial fundamental act. Then day by day I must go on giving to Him, not finding fault with His use of me but accepting with praise even what the flesh revolts against.” -pg.98

It is not to say that I haven’t done these things, but it is hitting me harder than ever that this is something to be always mindful of. I am not perfect nor will I ever be. Praise the Lord that I am not alone in this fleshly body but, instead, I have the Christ inside and have the Holy Spirit which leads me in all truth (Col. 1:27, John 16:13)! My desire is to daily make myself a slave to the Lord. This means that not only am I not my own and belong to my Lord, but I also serve Him. So often we have focused on being a servant and while this is true, it’s only partially true. The other part of that is that we are not our own but we are His to be used for his “good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

This truth is something I’ve known but my eyes haven’t been open to the depth of it until now. Praise the Lord for opening my eyes to my blindness and the reality that I am not my own!

“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. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” -Romans 12:1-2

Everything about me is not my own but the Lord’s. My hands are not my own. My feet are not my own. My heart is not my own. My eyes are not my own. They are, rather, in the possession of my King. They shall only be used as He directs me to use them. As I am instructed, so must I obey. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” -Ephesians 2:10

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