Even Exchange Pt. 2

Hey you guys! Have you been waiting on me? I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Lol. I've had some technical difficulties i.e. unforseen health issues and I've been journeying a little further away from religion this week myself. I'll share about that in times to come. But I'm happy to be doing better and I'm ready to get this post out of my system.

Before you start reading, listen to this song by Kirk Franklin called Hero. Click Here

So, the other week I was talking about giving our all for His all. We're going to dig a little deeper with this. Romans 12:1 says, "I beeseech you therefore brethern, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Let's disect this scripture.When we think of sacrifice we think of something that is given to be killed and its ultimate fate is death. Some definitions of sacrifice given by Merriam-Webster Dictionary say, "destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something; an act of offering to a diety something precious; especially; the killing of a victim on an altar." Jesus offered himself as our perfect sacrifice but He yet lives. The scripture says to offer ourselves as a LIVING SACRIFICE, not a dead one so leave the poisoned kool-aid alone! LOL! I'm sorry. Excuse my goofiness/corniness. As a digress.... we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, offering of ourselves daily to God which is our reasonable service...it's the least we can do.

Let's backtrack in Romans to the 6th chapter and 4th verse. "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Verse 5. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that they body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." Ok, so this excerpt is saying that when we are baptized we are buried with Christ and when we come up out of the water, we are to walk in the newness of life. Lets focus on the likeness of His death and resurrection part. This is where the even exchange comes in. Our life (being buried with Christ through baptism) for His life (likeness of His resurrection). There's a transfer that happens.When Jesus got up out of the grave He defeated death and took away the fear of it as well. Before He died He had taken away the power of sin, the consequence of our sin (spiritual death), illnesses and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him (Isaiah 53:5) on the cross! The power that He had at his resurrection and still has is now given to us through His spirit, the Holy Spirit, through the sacrifice of our lives.

Offering ourselves as a living sacrifice is not a one time occassion. Just like a wedding is not considered a marriage. A lot of people get dressed up to walk down the aisle, spend ridiculous amounts of money and time planning but aren't really ever married...meaning living their lives as 1 unit; giving their seperate lives for each other for the greater good. God doesn't want a beautiful one day ceremony. He wants a marriage. He is the groom and we are the bride. When we live a surrendered life to God, we give room for the exchange of His love to consume us, His surpassing peace to takeover us....all that He is becomes us. Galatians 2:20 says "I have been crucified with Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Jesus needs those to be willing to give their lives to save others and to bring glory to Him. He said that the works that He does we will also do and even greater works than that (John 14:12). Religion has taught us to sacrifice to a cause, specific ministry, or man but not entirely to God.

When we live a sacrificed life unto Christ, we can say what Chris Brown says in this song (Click to Listen) or what Natalie Grant says in her song (Click to Listen). I've experienced the reality of these songs in my life. I'm not going to lie and say that it's easy to do all of the time (live a sacrificed/surrendered life) because our minds are a battlefield. We have to overcome that. Where the mind goes the body and everything else will follow.  Although it's not always easy, living a sacrificed life is not a heavy burden or yoke around our necks. It's a joy when it's all about God, His love and our love for Him. Jesus says in Matthew 11:30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

When we live a surrendered life to God and exercise our faith, then God can put His super on our natural and we can experience life more abundantly through Christ.

If you have any questions or comments, PLEASE feel free to share them. I hope that this post has blessed you in some kind of way. Let's continue on this journey to a deeper relationship with God and not religion, experiencing His freedom.

Vakeisa L. Jones