Ephesians 5:2
Making the Switch
Me. Me. Me. We probably wouldn’t want to admit it, but in our innermost being we may be more self-centered than others-centered. Our day may not begin with, “Heavenly Father, how can I serve You?” Rather, our first thought may be on what we want to get out of the day. Have you ever considered doing a 180: a turnaround based on Ephesians 5:2? “Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an OFFERING and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” In other words, we who are “Christ followers” are told to follow His example. We’re to walk in love and offer ourselves to serve God’s purposes. What happens when we do? We have the opportunity to be a fragrance of Christ to God and others.
Christ Jesus, You are the ultimate example of being an OFFERING and sacrifice to God. Help us follow Your example so that our lives are a fragrance of You.
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You Smell Good
Do you enjoy pleasant fragrances? Did you know that God does, too? Did you know that you can be a sweet fragrance to God? He can get a whiff of you and think, “You smell good!” How fun is that – to smell good to our Heavenly Father? How in the world can we smell good to God? Ephesians 5:2 answers that question. It tells us to “…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a FRAGRANT AROMA.” Christ’s sacrificial love and life were a fragrant aroma to God. And, we’re called to imitate Christ. When we do, we’re a sweet aroma to our Heavenly Father. What if we haven’t been walking in sacrificial love, but rather been selfish or unloving? We need to acknowledge our sin and put it away from us by confessing the sin and asking Jesus to forgive us. How does that affect our spiritual “aroma”? When writing Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, I used my daughter’s puppy, Bailey, as an example that we smell like whatever we hold close to our heart. Bailey had a distinct puppy odor and after holding her, her odor remained on me. It wasn’t pleasant so I showered and changed clothes. Just like a dog has an odor, so sin has an odor. If we’re clinging to a “pet” sin, God and others get a whiff of it. What can we do to rid ourselves of the stench of sin? Put the sin aside and bathe in God’s forgiveness and grace. Then, as Christ was, we’ll be a fragrant aroma to God.
Christ Jesus, we praise You for walking in love and giving Yourself as an offering and sacrifice to God; a FRAGRANT AROMA. Help us follow Your example.
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Has Anyone Ever Sacrificed Something for You
Has anyone ever sacrificed something for you? Have they sacrificed sleep so you could sleep? Have they sacrificed advancing so you could? Have they sacrificed their plans so you could do yours? Sacrifice. Sometimes we sacrifice, but do so begrudgingly. But Ephesians 5:2 tells us Jesus willingly SACRIFICED His life for us. He thought of us, not Himself. Hill Country Ministries is dedicated to telling others of Jesus’s great love and sacrifice. One way we do this is by taking our P.R.A.Y. with Passion Conference to every state. Christians are inspired and equipped to pray more purposefully and live more passionately for Christ. Seekers are given the opportunity to respond in faith to Christ. Thank you for your prayers as I teach this morning in Indiana.
Lord Jesus, thank You for willingly giving up Your glory, Your comfort, Your life for us; for being a SACRIFICE to God on our behalf so that we can live in heaven.
“…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a SACRIFICE to God as a fragrant aroma .” Ephesians 5:2
Praise to Christ, an OFFERING to GOD
“Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an OFFERING and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
Me. Me. Me. I. I. I. We probably won’t admit it, but in our innermost being we may be more self-centered than sacrificial. Our day may not begin with, “God, what do You want?” Rather, our first thought may be on what we want. Have you ever considered doing a 180: a turnaround based on Christ’s example? We’re told to “be imitators of God” and to walk in love, just as Christ….who gave Himself up as an OFFERING and sacrifice to God. The result? His life was a fragrant aroma to God. Why not follow His example? Offer our lives to God. Change from “Me Me Me” to “You, You, You, God.”
Christ Jesus, You are the ultimate example of being an OFFERING and sacrifice to God. Help me think and act like You.
*I pray that 365 DAYS of PRAISE is an encouragement to you. If so, please LIKE my ministry page HERE. Share these posts with others. Be the fragrance.
Praise to CHRIST, a FRAGRANT AROMA
“…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a FRAGRANT AROMA.”
Everyone enjoys a fragrant aroma; including God. When writing Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, I used my daughter’s puppy as an example of how we carry either the stench of sin or the aroma of Christ; depending on what we hold closely. Her puppy had a distinct odor and after holding her, that odor remained on me. It wasn’t pleasant. I showered and changed clothes. We must do the same if we’re holding sin close to us. The stench isn’t pleasant to others or God. We must set the sin aside and bathe in God’s forgiveness. Then, as Christ did, we can walk in love as an offering and sacrifice to God; a fragrant aroma to God.
Christ Jesus, we praise You. Thank You for giving Yourself as an offering and sacrifice to God; a FRAGRANT AROMA.
Share this daily post with others to encourage them in their faith walk.
Praise to Christ, a SACRIFICE to GOD
“…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a SACRIFICE to God as a fragrant aroma .”
Has anyone ever sacrificed something for you? Have they sacrificed sleep so you could sleep? Have they sacrificed advancing so you could? Have they sacrificed their plans so you could do yours? Sacrifice. Sometimes we may sacrifice, but do so begrudgingly. We can tend to look out for ourselves. But Jesus did the opposite. He willingly SACRIFICED His life as a fragrant aroma for us. He thought of us, not Himself.
Lord Jesus, thank You for willingly giving up Your glory, Your comfort, Your life for us; for being a SACRIFICE to God on our behalf so that we can live in heaven.
FRAGRANT AROMA
“…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
Ephesians 5:2
Who doesn’t love a good fragrance? Including God! When writing my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, I used my daughter’s puppy as an example of how we carry either the stench of sin or aroma of Christ; depending on what we hold closely. Her puppy had a distinct odor and after holding her, that odor remained on me. It wasn’t pleasant. I showered and changed clothes. We must do the same if we’re holding sin close to us. The stench isn’t pleasant to others or God. We must set the sin aside and bathe in God’s forgiveness. Then, as Christ did, we can walk in love as an offering and sacrifice to God. We can be a fragrant aroma to our Lord.
Christ Jesus, I praise You, who loved me and gave Yourself up for me, an offering and sacrifice to God. I choose to hold You, a FRAGRANT AROAMA, close to me, not sin.
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SACRIFICE
“…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma .”
Ephesians 5:2
Has anyone ever sacrificed anything for you? Have they sacrificed their sleep so you could sleep? Have they sacrificed advancing so you could? Have they sacrificed their plans so you could do yours? Sacrifice. Most of us do not willingly sacrifice. Instead, we look out for number one. But Jesus did the opposite. He sacrificed His life for us. He thought of us, not Himself. He sacrificed His life for you.
Jesus, thank You for willing giving up Your plans, Your comfort, Your life for me; for being a SACRIFICE to God on my behalf so that I might live in His pesence one day.
OFFERING to GOD
“Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us,
an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
Ephesians 5:2
Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. I. I. I. I. I. I want… I want… I want… We probably won’t admit it, but in our innermost being we may be more self-centered than sacrificial centered. Our day may not begin with, “God, what do You want?” Rather, our first thoughts may be on what we want. Have you ever considered doing a 180: a complete turnaround based on Christ’s example? We’re told to “be imitators of God” and to walk in love, just as Christ….who gave Himself up as an offering and sacrifice to God. The result? His life was a fragrant aroma to God. Why not follow His example? Offer our lives to God to use today in the way He wants. Change Me Me Me Me Me to You, God. You, God. You, God.
Christ Jesus, You are the ultimate example of being an OFFERING and sacrifice to God. I praise You.
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