Acts of a Christian
Today’s Verse:
Romans 12:1 ESV
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
This week, we will reflect upon some of the most popular Bible verses from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Today, our Bible verse is taken from Chapter 12, verse 1.
The Apostle Paul, after laying out the deep riches of God’s grace in Christ throughout the first eleven chapters of Romans, now turns to us with a heartfelt appeal: not to repay God—for who could?—but to respond. And that response is not ritual, not mere words, but our very selves.
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” That phrase would have startled Paul’s original readers. Sacrifices were things offered once, then consumed. But this is different. Because Christ has offered Himself once and for all, our offering is not to die—but to live. Each day becomes an act of worship as we live not for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again for us.
In Lutheran teaching, this isn’t about earning salvation. It’s the grateful life that flows from salvation. We love because He first loved us. We serve because He has served us. We offer our bodies, our time, our talents, and our work in the world not to win God’s favor—but because we already have it in Jesus.
This kind of spiritual worship happens not only in the sanctuary but in daily life—in our homes, our relationships, our vocations. Every act of kindness, every decision made in faith, every burden carried for another becomes a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable through Christ.
.Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious Lord, because of Your mercy, teach me to live each day as an offering to You. Help me serve others with the love You have shown me in Christ. Make my life a reflection of Your grace and a light to those around me In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo above was taken from a post on X by @HolyBible.