If you do not have this fascination, it could be that you are but another Esau. What a tragedy to be born of the red clay and live and die and be buried in the red clay. Shakespeare said of Caesar, "That though he be the emperor yet give nature time and nature will reduce him to a bit of clay that might be used to keep the wind away." The great Persian poet Omar Khayyam said, "When you drink out of that vessel, drink reverently; it may be your grandfaither's dust out of which it is made." What a tragedy to be born out of the red clay and live a secular, earthly life and then die and be buried out of sight in that same red clay. But if you feel the charm, the tug and the pull of God, you will know what the Holy Spirit meant when He said, "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). How do you get out of the religious rut" You get out of the rut by giving God your all, letting God have you completely. Concentrate your whole life on God and His Son Jesus Christ. Then seek to know the sweet fascination of loving God. You cannot stay asleep very long when the beauty of Jesus is before your eyes. Some have been asleep long enough. If you could only wake to the voice of your Beloved. If you could only be awakened and roused and hear Him speak, it would be sweeter than the voice of the mocking bird, sweeter than the sound of the harp. The voice of God's Son—that would get you out of the rut, and that would get you out of your sleep. Jesus Christ is God's music, God's poetry, God's art, God's beauty, God's all.

A.W. Tozer's materials are a mainstay in Evangelical churches in our day and he is one of the most quoted authors. He was a prophet in his day and his writings are even more influential in our day. One of his books: The Pursuit of God, has had over 1 million copies sold world-wide.

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer

Real Worship

<blockquote>
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (<a id="verse_1632879378416414" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/14">Rom. 8:14</a>).
</blockquote>It takes a good many years of sin and failure in order to see through our own motives. The growing believer finally learns to trust but one source of motivation: "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (<a id="verse_1632879378666011" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/2">Rom. 8:2</a>)."All of our motives will be tested by fire. Are we seeking personal influence, popularity, reputation, prestige, acceptableness, success? We may think our motives to be perfectly pure; but not until we pass into daily death, death to any or all of the above, and find ourselves despised and rejected of men,' our names cast out as evil, and a real hold-up (seemingly) of our work, do we really come to face the true purpose and motive of our having any place in the service of God. The Cross separating us from everything Adamic both within and without is a good test of motives."Men of God who have been truly used by Him have gone this way. Not upon our flesh - whether it be the gross flesh or the refined, soulish, educated flesh - will God allow His Spirit to come. Before there can be life for others there must be death for us (<a id="verse_1632879378333159" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Corinthians/4/12">2 Cor. 4:12</a>). Before there can be the fire of God there must be an altar and a sacrifice; and it must be the burnt offering." -T. A-S."Present your bodies a living sacrifice. . . which is your reasonable service" (<a id="verse_1632879378379091" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/12/1">Rom. 12:1</a>).

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 Life's Motivation 

Whoever offers praise glorifies Me. § It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. § Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate … Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. § Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Evening Daily Light

 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,  and I will glorify Your name forevermore. 

Without faith it is impossible to please Him. § Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. § The Lord takes pleasure in His people. This is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully … But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. § The … beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit … is very precious in the sight of God. Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God. § I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves. I beseech you … brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 Things that are pleasing in His sight. 

You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. § Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree. He made us accepted in the Beloved. As living stones … built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.

Morning Daily Light

 He shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 

<blockquote>
The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (<a id="verse_1632879976470015" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/7">Rom. 8:7</a>).
</blockquote>The Cross is the altar upon which God sacrificed His Son. It is upon this same Cross (take up your Cross "daily"), this same altar (the place of death), that I am to be consecrated to God as "a new creation" (<a id="verse_1632879976354073" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Corinthians/5/17">2 Cor. 5:17</a>). This eventuates in my intelligently yielding myself to Him as one who is "alive from the dead" (<a id="verse_1632879976989550" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/6/13">Rom. 6:13</a>)."God asks us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him (<a id="verse_1632879976151374" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/12/1">Rom. 12:1</a>). Until we have done this, there is nothing else we can do. But notice that this exhortation comes after Romans Six. There is a reason for this order - crucifixion comes before consecration. Uncrucified self refuses to be consecrated (to say nothing of God's refusing to accept it). That is why so many people with all sincerity walk down the aisles again and again, consecrating uncrucified self to God." -H.D."We must learn to know Him and to love Him. Then we will not have to struggle to move into consecration. The heart will lead into it. A lover never thinks about giving himself to a loved one. He cannot do otherwise. He loves to do it. Is there not here a key to consecration? Why do we not yield? Because we do not love. Why do we have to fight the battle and vow and groan and struggle? Because we do not know Him." -C.A.C."That I may know Him...and the fellowship of His sufferings" (<a id="verse_1632879976281115" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Philippians/3/10">Phil. 3:10</a>).

 The Cross, Then Consecration 

He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. §  On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper. God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. I beseech you … , brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. § The love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. § Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

 Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase. 

<blockquote>
I endure all things for the elect's sake" (<a id="verse_1632877237200173" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Timothy/2/10">2 Tim. 2:10</a>).
</blockquote>Our Father's mercy is all-encompassing. It includes our salvation - " . . . according to His mercy He saved us" (<a id="verse_1632877237333540" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Titus/3/5">Titus 3:5</a>); and our service - " . . . by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice. . . which is your reasonable service" (<a id="verse_1632877237942177" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/12/1">Rom. 12:1</a>).Reasonable service is based upon sacrifice: "I, Paul. . . rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church" (<a id="verse_1632877237987320" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Colossians/1/23">Col. 1:23</a>; <a id="verse_1632877237777123336" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Colossians/1/24">24</a>)."To truly minister to others is always to accept new happiness and new distress, both of them forever deepening and entering into closer and more inseparable union with each other, the more profound and spiritual the ministry becomes. The one who gives himself to others can never be a wholly sad person; but no more can he be one of unclouded gladness." -G.M."The fuller the service, the greater the surrender and sacrifice. It is not giving what one can spare without feeling it, for I will not offer the Lord that which doth cost me nothing' (<a id="verse_1632877237332129" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Samuel/24/24">2 Sam. 24:24</a>)."The service declares its virtue and aim by the suffering which is endured in rendering it, for what can be done at one's ease is generally done without much concern for the one to whom it is rendered, and thus the true quality is lost.""I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved" (<a id="verse_1632877237110416" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Corinthians/12/15">2 Cor. 12:15</a>).

 Sacrificial Service 

As you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. § I beseech you … , brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. § In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them. § This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind. You have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: … put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.

 Walk in newness of life. 

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it … Love is as strong as death. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. [He] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed. § In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. You were washed … you were sanctified … you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. § You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. § I beseech you … , brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. 

 Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 

I urge you... to offer your bodies as living 
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. 
(Romans 12:1 NIV)

You have a life, and that life is a great trust, a great responsibility. It 
can stay in its own ambitions, its own interests, its own worldly concerns and 
considerations, it can stay by itself. Will you give your life to God, will you 
let it go to Him, will you put it on the altar and let the knife be taken that 
God may have it utterly? If you will, God will multiply your life, God will 
extend your life, God will make much more of it than ever it would have been if 
you had kept it in your own hands. Have you got something in your life that you 
are holding on to as a Christian; you are not letting that go to the Lord? You 
know what it is. I should miss it if I tried to catalog the things it might 
be. You know you have something where you are not letting go to the Lord. The 
Lord has put His finger on something, and you are holding on. You have an 
argument which you think is a very good argument. You have a reason you think 
perfectly good, so you are holding on. Deep down the truth is you are not 
prepared to let that go.... 
There are times when, in recognition that a 
certain course is the Lord’s way, we have to wait for the Lord’s time and see to 
it that our strength of will coming into alliance with some purpose of God is 
not jeopardizing the fruitfulness of that thing, and doing other people harm and 
making other people suffer. There are times when we have to come back to the 
Lord and say, "Lord, You have shown me that is Your way for me, but I can see 
that it is going to involve others in a great deal of suffering. I do want to be 
sure of Your time in this, and that I am not taking hold of it; it is not my 
strength of will to do Your will. I want to do this thing in self-sacrificing 
love, so that the least loss shall be suffered by others." We have seen people 
who are right as to their objective, right as to what the Lord wants, but the 
way in which they do it often spoils the whole thing. They take hold of Divine 
things, and while the thing is right, they are spoiling it by bringing their own 
strength of will into alliance with it. This applies in many ways. We must be 
circumcised in heart to do the will of God, ready to let go and let God 
determine the way to accomplish it. May the Lord interpret His Word and make it 
fruitful. I know it is challenging. It searches us all; we shall all come up 
against it. But oh, see what happened in heaven, and see that He desires that as 
it is in heaven, so it shall be on earth.

This devotional contains short daily portions from a selection of Mr. Austin-Sparks' messages. In his own words, “Perhaps this is just like a window opened into heaven. If you get the right window you can see quite a lot. You can see great things and you can see far things. But the best that I can hope is that this has just opened a window, and that as you look through it you are seeing one thing - how superior is Jesus Christ to all else, and how superior is the dispensation into which we have come, and how superior are all the resources at our disposal to all that ever was before!” Open Windows messages have been selected and compiled by Austin-Sparks.Net from the works of T. Austin-Sparks. In some cases they appear in abridged form. The introductory verse and its associated Bible version have been selected by the editor and did not always appear within the original message.

Open Windows

The Pathway of the Heavenly Vision - Chapter 7

 Circumcised in Heart 

You shall … make a laver of bronze … You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, … they shall wash with water, lest they die. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. § Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you. § If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. In my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. § There shall by no means enter it anything that defiles. § You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. § I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 Our bodies washed with pure water. 

Ezra 6:14-22There was much delay in the building of the temple. There was bitter opposition from the inhabitants of Samaria. "The people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them." They wrote to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, to protest against the building, maligning the Jews and alleging that Jerusalem had been a rebellious and wicked city. The work of rebuilding was thus interrupted for a time. Under Darius, however, the decree of Cyrus was again found and the work on the temple was resumed and finished.The prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the people. They probably would not have finished the work at all - if it had not been for the cheer given by these prophets. We are all apt at some time in life to get disheartened. Things go wrong with us. The burdens are heavy, the way is hard, opposition is fierce. Many people faint and give up in times of trouble, because no one has a word of cheer for them. But if someone comes with glad heartening, they take fresh courage to go on to finish their work or fight their battle through to the end.Haggai and Zechariah did not themselves work on the walls, and yet without their part, the building would not have gone on to completion. You may by your good cheer, be the means of accomplishing noble and wonderful results, which would never have been accomplished but for the stimulating influence of your words. This is an important part of the preacher's work every Sunday. The people come to the services weary after their hard work. Sometimes the week has not been a prosperous one. Business had not been successful. Money has been lost. Labor has not yielded good returns. It has been hard to make ends meet. Or there has been sickness, and the loved one is not out of danger. Or someone in the family has not been doing well.Or the discouragement may be personal. Temptation may have been too strong - and the battle may have been lost. Duty has been too hard or too large. There is not a Sunday when the pastor does not face disheartened people sitting in the pews, needing his good cheer. If he speaks brave, hopeful words - he will help many a weary one to a victorious week. This is part of his work, quite as really as preaching the gospel of salvation and life. All of us, wherever we go, are continually meeting those whose hands hang down, and whose knees are trembling - and it is our privilege and duty to lift up the one, and strengthen the other. Helping by encouragement is one of the very best of all ways of helping.Thus cheered, the people wrought with energy and enthusiasm upon the building. They had both divine and human help. They had the commandment of God to impel them, and they had also the decrees of Cyrus and Artaxerxes to protect them and aid them. Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes did their part. Then there was Zerubbabel and Joshua, besides Haggai and Zechariah, with hundreds more whose names are not recorded. The obscurest helper helped in some way, and record was made of what he did. The man who felled trees in the forests of Lebanon, the man who worked in the quarry, the man who mixed the mortar - all did their part. Without the humblest helpers - the most skilled workman and the greatest could not do their conspicuous portion. So it is in all the Lord's work in this world - there is something for every one. Each one has something to contribute toward the Lord's work, and the lowliest thing done on God's temple - is full of highest honor.There is a tradition that a certain artist sought permission to do the ornamenting and adorning of the great doors of the English Parliament House. If this work could not be given to him, he asked that he might be allowed to decorate one panel. If he could not have this privilege, he begged that at least he might be permitted to hold the brushes for the artist who should do the work on the great doors. Even that humble office, he felt, would be an honor worthy to be sought. Just so, the lowliest task in the building of God's great spiritual temple - is honor enough for the noblest of mortals. To put one line or touch of beauty in a life - is to work with God. To give a little comfort, cheer, or encouragement to a sad or weary spirit, thus helping a life heavenward, is better than to build a huge pyramid that never blesses anybody. The smallest ministry to a human life or even to one of God's lowliest creatures. redeems a life from commonness and makes it divine.At last every part of the work was done, and the time came for the dedication. It was a glad occasion when that completed building stood there on the sacred mount. It had risen out of ruins. It had cost great sacrifice and toil. It had been built up amid many discouragements and hindrances. Tears had fallen on many a stone as it was lifted to its place. Things we do through cost, self-denial, hardship, and hindrance - are far dearer to us and more sacred - than things we do with ease, without feeling the burden or the cost. Churches built by poor, struggling congregations, whose people have to sacrifice, pinch, and deny themselves to gather the money - yield far more joy to their builders when finished - than beautiful and costly churches reared by the rich. The former represent human love, life, blood, and tears. They are built out of people's hearts. The latter may be grander in men's eyes - but in heaven's sight the former shine in the radiant splendor of love.Our joy in doing God's work and in making gifts to God - is measured by the real cost of the things we do and give. The more heart's blood there is in them - the more precious they will be to us and also to God, and the greater will be their value to others. The truest joys of earth are transformed sorrows. The richest treasures of our lives are those which have cost us the most.The dedication day was a day of great gladness. The offering consisted of a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs. The people were poor - but they spared nothing that day. They gave God the best they had. The animals in the great sacrifice were of no special worth in the services, except as they represented love and devotion to God. They stood for the people's own lives.<div class="center-it mtb10">"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. The ancient sacrifices were killed - but it is a living sacrifice which we are to present. That means that we are to dedicate our bodies to be God's temples - places for God to dwell in. We are to live for God in the very best sense, giving Him all our powers, keeping our lives unspotted and holy for Him, and devoting them to His service in all sweet ways. Too many of us give to God only the broken remnants of tired days - the fragments that are left over - after we have served our own selfishness with the best. We need to learn to give Christ the best of everything we have.</div>"Every one in his place and to every one his work ", is the law of God's Church. The priests had their duties and the Levites had theirs, and when all were set where they belonged, the worship could go on. In every Christian Church the same adjustment is necessary. It is the duty of one to preach, of others to be elders and deacons; of others to be teachers, others secretaries and librarians. Thus to every member, there is some allotment of duty and service. There is not a little child who cannot be of use in some way in Christ's work. A Church is complete only when every one is doing something, filling some place.The services of the temple were resumed at once after the building was dedicated. The Passover feast was held again at the proper time. The Passover was to the Jews, very much like what the Lord's Supper is to Christians. It was in remembrance of the days when they were in bondage and when God brought them out. Now a second time they had been brought out of bondage, and it was especially and doubly proper that they should now keep the Passover feast. It was a memorial of their own release from captivity.There is a story of a stranger who appeared one day on the streets of an Eastern city. Passing where many birds in cages were exposed for sale, he stopped and looked with tender pity at the little captives. At length asking the price of one of the birds, he paid it and, opening the cage, let it go free. Thus he went on until all the birds had been liberated. Flying up a little way, they caught a glimpse of the mountains far off, which were their native home, and flew quickly toward them. When the stranger was asked why he had done this, he answered, "I too have been a captive - and now I know the sweet joy of liberty." We who have known the bitterness of sin's captivity and are now free, made free by Christ's deliverance, should gladly seek to open the prisons of other captives and let them go free!

A unique type of devotional from the writings of James Russell Miller, published between 1908 and 1913.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

Ezra 6:14-22

Dedicating the Temple

You are exempt from the necessity of bringing lambs and heifers to the altar; but the aim of the gospel is to lead you to do what the law could not induce men to do, consecrate your own body to the Lord, bringing it daily to the altar, and devoting it to the execution as well as the enduring of his will. You are ever ready to yield it unto death as Abraham was his son; but the angel of the Lord ever interposes and says, God has some work for this body to do; see to the doing of that and come again. It is of course only by the consecration of the soul that that of the body can be accomplished. God's will must be cordially embraced by the heart, before the feet or the hands or the tongue will move to execute it. So intimate is the union of soul and body that the consecration of the one involves that of the other. Let no man suppose that his heart is really given to the Lord, if the functions of his body be not employed in carrying out the revealed will of God. The Holy Ghost does not nestle in the heart, shrouded from sight. He is not living in us if he is not effluent from us. He is perpetually forth-flowing by the tongue, the eyes, the hand, the feet, the entire person. (John 7:38.)

A daily devotional written by a Baptist Missionary to India, Reverend George Bowen (1816-1888) over 150 years ago.

Bowen's Daily Meditations

''That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." - Romans 12:1. 

The mercy of God is His pity, lovingkindness and compassion on those who are guilty, failing, distressed or needy. The Scriptures emphasize that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and plenteous in mercy (Psalms 86:5). His mercy is abundant (1 Peter 1:3); it is great unto the heavens (Psalms 57:10). "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him" (Psalms 103:11). God is spoken of as "the Father of mercies" (2 Corinthians 1:3), One who is "very pitiful and of tender mercy" (James 5:11). He is impartial in bestowing mercy: "for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). Men are not saved by works of righteousness (Titus 3:5) but by His sovereign mercy (Exodus 33:19; Romans 9:15). His mercy endures forever to those who fear Him (Psalms 136:1; Lu. 1:50), but for the impenitent it is for this life only.There is a difference between grace and mercy. Grace means that God showers me with blessings which I do not deserve. Mercy means that He does not give me the punishment that I do deserve.Every doctrine of the Scripture has duty attached. The mercies of God require, first of all, that we should present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God (Romans 12:1). It is the most reasonable, rational, sane, sensible thing we can do.Then, too, God would have us to be merciful to one another. A special reward is promised to the merciful: "they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). The Lord would rather have mercy than sacrifice (Matthew 9:13), that is, great acts of sacrifice are unacceptable if they are divorced from personal godliness.The good Samaritan is the one who shows mercy to his neighbor. We show mercy when we feed the hungry, clothe the poor, nurse the sick, visit the widows and orphans, and weep with those who weep.We are merciful when we refuse the opportunity to take vengeance on someone who has wronged us, or when we show compassion on those who have failed.Remembering what we are, we should pray for mercy for ourselves (Hebrews 4:16) and for others (Galatians 6:16; 1 Timothy 1:2).Finally the mercies of God should tune our hearts to sing His praise.When all thy mercies, O my God,My rising soul surveys,Transported with the view I'm lost,In wonder, love, and praise.Joseph Addison

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"God…is rich in mercy." (Ephesians 2:4)

WHEN a beast was set apart for sacrifice, it was considered sacred, and was carefully preserved from all injury. The Christian is devoted, he is intended for the altar, his body as well as his soul, and he is required to present it to God holy, acceptable, as a reasonable service. It is not to be defiled by fornication, by intoxication, by gluttony, by filth, by pride; he is to look upon it as the Lord's, bought with the blood of Jesus; consecrated as the temple of the Holy Ghost, set apart to be the habitation of a Holy God. The believer's body should not be united by marriage to an unbeliever; this is sacrilege, for the vessel is holy; it is rebellion, for it is plainly and positively forbidden; it is sinning wilfully, and provoking the eyes of divine holiness. It is offering insult to the God of love, and calling upon Him to vindicate His injured mercy. Believer, present thy body daily to God, washed in pure water that is, cleansed from defilement by observing His word; never call that common which God has consecrated, or debase that which He has devoted to Himself.Lord, it is but just and right, That I should be wholly Thine; Only in Thy will delight, In Thy blessed service join. Now my sacrifice receive, Give me grace to Thee to live.

Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer

"A living sacrifice." Romans 12:1

For Reading and Meditation:      Romans 12:1-8The second thing the psalmist learned about himself as he paused in self-examination was this: "I saw myself so stupid and so ignorant" (Psalm 73:22, TLB). There were things he knew which he had foolishly chosen to forget. He forgot that God was in control. He forgot the temporary nature of success and prosperity. He forgot the whole purpose of godly living. He forgot that God always has the last word. If you and I react as the psalmist did to trials, then there is only one thing that can be said about us - we are stupid and ignorant. The third thing the psalmist learned about himself was that he had reacted like an animal - instinctively: "I was a brute beast before you" (Psalm 73:22b). What is the difference between a beast and a human being? A beast lacks the faculty of reason. It is unable to stand outside itself to consider itself and its actions. An animal responds to any stimulus instinctively without any interval for thought. The psalmist had been doing that - he had failed to put an interval of thought between the stimulus and the response. Once he did stop to think, and put the situation in a different context, his negative feelings immediately dissolved. Is not this the value of the Scriptures? As we read them they reason with us. They tell us not to react instinctively to things, but to think them through. They give us a new framework for our understanding, a new context in which to reason. The more we draw our understanding from the Scriptures and learn to think God's thoughts after Him, the more secure and the more effective our lives become. Father, I am grateful that You have made me with the ability to think. My thoughts can lead me astray or they can lead me to You. Help me to draw my thought patterns not from the world but from Your Word. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Psalm 105:5</li><li>Deuteronomy 6:12</li><li>Psalm 50:22</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What is a basic human tendency?</li><li>What does the psalmist exhort us to do?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

" be transformed by the renewing of your mind " (v. 2) 

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1

 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 400 years. The King James Version present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.

OT: Masoretic Text, some LXX and Vulgate influence.
NT: Textus Receptus, similar to the Byzantine text-type; some readings derived from the Vulgate.
Apocrypha: Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.

Romans 12:1 KJV

Romans 12:1 KJV

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