Renewal

I have been meditating on Genesis 8. It is the story of Noah during the time that the floods have receded. For Noah, his family, and the animals that are with him, it is a time to start again. It is an opportunity for a fresh start. The first thing that he does to start again is to worship and sacrifice to God. These are two words that we need to remember while we are in this season of renewal. Worship is the thought and act of giving of yourself wholly to God and His plans for your life. It is not just the lifting of our hands and words but an elevating of our total lives to Him. It is giving of ourselves to God in a sacrificial manner. If we want God to use us for His glory in 2010 we are going to have to sacrifice to Him all that we are. 

Worship and sacrifice are synonymous. They fit together like hand and glove. When we look at worship it requires much more than lip service but life service. Sacrifice often paints the picture of me dying to what I want to do. At the thought of this definition my flesh immediately cringes. But that is only a part of it because you cannot truly die to yourself in Christ without growing definitively and conceptually. You see, when we die to ourselves in Christ, we are resurrected to a new life, a new outlook, a new conceptual understanding of the world around us and how we fit into it. Our lives become a life of renewal that carries with it a greater sense of fulfillment and purpose. I know that we all have made plans for 2010 but the answers will be from the Lord. Sacrifice your plans to Him and the answers will come back improved. Whatever we experienced in 2009 is in the past buried under a flood of time. But just like Noah we should have a new hope and sense the time of renewal that is upon us. This year will require worship and sacrifice if we are to be everything that God has called us to be. We should be determined to improve and be better in 2010.