Day 74: The Walking Dead

Scriptural Nuggets Daily Devotion

Since Genesis 3, God has demanded sacrifice. The first 4,000 years of this proved that no sacrifice but the life of a person was able to cover the sin of a person (e.g. A lamb does not equal a person in value; that is why they were constantly sacrificing).

When Jesus came, he, being God, was worth the lives of every person ever to walk the planet. His sacrifice was enough to cover all sin, and it does for all who receive this sacrifice.

Ironically, the sacrifice that brings life to all, also requires that we die to self.

For you have died, and your life has been safely guarded by the Messiah in God. When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you, too, will be revealed with him in glory. – Colossians 3:3,4

The problem is that I’m still breathing, which means though I’m dead, I’m also alive and kicking. The problem with the walking dead is that they still get into mischief. As the old saying goes, “the problem with being a living sacrifice is that you can get up off the altar.”

This concept of dying to self is all over the Bible, virtually on every page – especially in the New Testament. It’s talked about so much because it is so hard to do. One way to succeed is to follow the SHAPERS principle:

• Submit to God
• Humble yourself
• Allow the Holy Spirit to lead
• Pray
• Ears to heaven
• Repent
• Serve others