I am part of the royal priesthood

 This wonderful declaration of truth comes from I Peter chapter 2.  In verse 5 it says, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  In verse 9 Peter continues, ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.’   

I love verse 9 because it puts together that we are not just a royal priesthood but first of all we are a chosen people and also a people belonging to God.   The reason we are part of the royal priesthood is that God has chosen us. Just stop and consider for a moment that God has chosen you, yes you, with all your faults and failings, weaknesses and difficulties, he has chosen you.  You have the highest calling to be part of the royal priesthood.  You belong to him and you are called out of darkness to declare his praises. 

Declaration is not gently and quietly whispering our praises.  Declaration is speaking aloud, boldly and with confidence that God is awesome, marvellous, worthy of our praise.  He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Almighty God. We are called to declare that. 

Those who are part of the holy priesthood are also called to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God.  In the Old Testament the priests offered animals as sacrifices to God.  In Hebrews it says that when Christ came as high priest, he entered the Most Holy Place in heaven not with the blood of bulls and goats but by his own blood (Hebrews 9: 11 - 12).  God does not want our blood, so what is a spiritual sacrifice?  Paul tells us, ‘to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.’  It is us – our bodies, our lives, our talents, our resources – all of which come from God in the first place – that we offer to God every day.

Today let us not ask God to bless our day but ask God how we can be part of what he is doing today.  God is doing marvellous things every day and he wants to use each one of us to be part of that.  So let us offer ourselves today as part of the royal priesthood to be a pleasing, acceptable sacrifice to God.

O Lord, today I do not ask you to bless my day but I want to be part of what you are doing.  I offer myself to be used by you to be a blessing to others, to represent you to the people I may come across today.  Please give me your wisdom, your words, your insight so I may be a Godly blessing wherever I go. In Jesus name.  Amen