“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. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” — Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

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Two of the first verses I ever learned to quote are found in Romans 12:1-2 (above). I especially love how we are encouraged to present our bodies “as a living sacrifice” and the reason is because this is our “spiritual worship.”

I was reminded of these verses on the first day of summer workouts this year. As I was getting ready to leave my house, I received a text from one of our receivers: “Pastor Scott, when you know, you know. It’s time for me to surrender my life to the Lord.” After I finished praising the Lord, I replied that I would be at the facility soon and we’d talk after workouts.

I will never forget what he told me when we met. “God has humbled me,” he said. “For too long I have held the pen of my life in my own hand. It’s time for me to lay the pen down and allow Him to write the story of my life.” With that, we bowed and this young man prayed the sweetest prayer to receive Christ as his personal Savior.

“It’s time for me to lay the pen down.” That sounds so much like Romans 12:1. The first act of worship in anyone’s life should be a surrendering of themselves to the Lord, giving Him complete and total control of their life as a form of spiritual worship.

— Scott Nicholson, Mississippi State football chaplain

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