Daily Devotional
Remaining Disciplined and Devoted to God

March 31, 2023

Ponder This

Have you ever said to God, “I am here. You can have all there is of me. I present myself as a sacrifice. All my plans, my goals, my so-called possessions—I sacrifice them to you Lord”? Does that seem strange to you? If we are honest with ourselves, there are so many of us that want to take Christianity and tack it onto our regular lives. We want to hold onto our lives, our rights.

A sacrifice in the Old Testament was killed; it had no more plans of its own. On the altar, they had two hooks and those hooks would be put into that sacrifice that was to be burned to hold it on the altar. Do you know what will hold you on the altar? Discipline and devotion will hold you there as a living sacrifice, but most of us don’t want those flesh hooks.

Many will say, “I don’t want to get bound down. I would teach a class, join a church, and make a pledge to the love offering, but I don’t want to get bound down. I want to be free.” No. This is a sacrifice. And what happened to an Old Testament sacrifice was this—it was consumed; it was burnt up. You do not truly worship God until you are consumed.

• If you are honest with yourself, what are the things you aren’t willing to give up to follow Jesus?
• Do discipline and devotion to Jesus have a prominent place in your life? Why or why not?

Practice This

Speak to a person you know who has sacrificed a lot to follow Jesus. Ask that person to share insights about discipline, devotion, and living sacrificially.