Thursday, July 7, 2011

July 7 Losing Your Self

 Romans 6:11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

It always interests me how God knits together the threads of our lives. In last might's evening reading, right now from Barbara Brown Taylor's book An Altar in the World, I came across these words: " When you live for God, your day begins when you lose yourself long enough for God to find you and when God finds you, to lose yourself again in praise."

Earlier in the book, she quotes Satanly Hauerwas words: "Christianity is to have one's body shaped, one's habits determined, in such a way that the worship of God is unavoidable." As I reflected on these two passages this morning, God brought a favorite old hymn to mind. Perhaps you recognize these words by Thomas Chisholm and CarL Lowden:

Living for Jesus

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Refrain

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.

Refrain

Living for Jesus, wherever I am,
Doing each duty in His holy Name;
Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.

Refrain

Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

I wonder if the directions for losing our self or being dead to self are found in these wonderful words: Living for Jesus.  Then I must ask whether we are living for Jesus, wouldn't worship be our natural response? Our expression of loving Him back?

1 comment:

  1. Greetings from Wordwise Hymns. Yes, I do recognize the words--posted some comments on them myself this morning. Thanks for the devotional thoughts. God bless.

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