Opendoor Youth Camp: Day #2
We are called to be a “living sacrifice,” but how do we do that? That idea, in and of itself, is paradoxical; it doesn’t make sense. The idea of a sacrifice is something that is dead. In the Old and New Testaments, it was a common practice to sacrifice a lamb or dove. A sacrifice wasn’t a sacrifice if it wasn’t dead.
This is where Jesus comes in. He was our sacrifice. He literally laid down His life so that we don’t have to die. We will never have to die to pay the price for our sins; that is the living part. The sacrifice part comes in because although we do not have to die, we are asked to lay down our life, to surrender the old life and step into the new. But how do we do this?
This doesn’t seem like an easy concept, to just surrender our lives to someone else and to offer up our very being in complete faith and trust. There was a great example of a living sacrifice in the Old Testament. In Genesis 22, God instructed Abraham to do the unimaginable. He told Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice. Now, if this seems strange, it is. God was testing Abraham on his obedience, and ultimately, was never going to allow Abraham to kill his son. Abraham took his son and was willing to give up the things he cherished more than anything in the world, but in the final moments, God supernaturally provided a ram caught in a thicket and told him to offer that instead.
Just like Abraham, we also have something, rather than someone, we can always count on. The Holy Spirit is our helper. The Bible says that Jesus is our perfect example; we are called to follow Him in everything, including giving up our lives as a sacrifice. But we do not have to do this alone. Because Jesus paid the price for our sins and rose from the dead, we no longer have to pay the payment of death; and because He ascended into heaven, we now have a helper called the Holy Spirit to walk with us in everything we do. The Holy Spirit is the one we trust to surrender ourselves to the will of God, and the Apostle Paul tells us that this surrender is daily. We wake up and choose to heed the leading of the Spirit in our lives, and in doing so, we can truly become the living sacrifice we were called to be.
SURRENDER
As you are preparing for your day, surrender. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in every aspect today, no matter how small.
LISTEN
Sometimes it is hard to hear the Holy Spirit because everything around us is too loud. If it feels like you can’t hear Him, quiet the noise. Go somewhere quiet and just listen for His voice.
ASK
During some free time, ask a friend where the Holy Spirit has led them today.
This is where Jesus comes in. He was our sacrifice. He literally laid down His life so that we don’t have to die. We will never have to die to pay the price for our sins; that is the living part. The sacrifice part comes in because although we do not have to die, we are asked to lay down our life, to surrender the old life and step into the new. But how do we do this?
This doesn’t seem like an easy concept, to just surrender our lives to someone else and to offer up our very being in complete faith and trust. There was a great example of a living sacrifice in the Old Testament. In Genesis 22, God instructed Abraham to do the unimaginable. He told Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice. Now, if this seems strange, it is. God was testing Abraham on his obedience, and ultimately, was never going to allow Abraham to kill his son. Abraham took his son and was willing to give up the things he cherished more than anything in the world, but in the final moments, God supernaturally provided a ram caught in a thicket and told him to offer that instead.
Just like Abraham, we also have something, rather than someone, we can always count on. The Holy Spirit is our helper. The Bible says that Jesus is our perfect example; we are called to follow Him in everything, including giving up our lives as a sacrifice. But we do not have to do this alone. Because Jesus paid the price for our sins and rose from the dead, we no longer have to pay the payment of death; and because He ascended into heaven, we now have a helper called the Holy Spirit to walk with us in everything we do. The Holy Spirit is the one we trust to surrender ourselves to the will of God, and the Apostle Paul tells us that this surrender is daily. We wake up and choose to heed the leading of the Spirit in our lives, and in doing so, we can truly become the living sacrifice we were called to be.
SURRENDER
As you are preparing for your day, surrender. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in every aspect today, no matter how small.
LISTEN
Sometimes it is hard to hear the Holy Spirit because everything around us is too loud. If it feels like you can’t hear Him, quiet the noise. Go somewhere quiet and just listen for His voice.
ASK
During some free time, ask a friend where the Holy Spirit has led them today.
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