Holy and Acceptable to God?

On the way to play some concerts in nursing homes this morning I was listening to Romans in the car and feeling pretty crappy.

You see, last night I had wasted several hours watching movie previews and reviews on Youtube. I had not given God a thought and hadn’t prepared my heart to be useful to anyone, much less the Lord, (I have a “job” which requires me to be spiritually healthy – I encourage residents at nursing homes with Gospel music) and then, as I drove, I listened to this verse:

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

I paused the CD and prayed (feel free to pray this with me now if you like):

“Lord, I offer my body, my fingers, my hands, my voice… all of me Lord, as a living sacrifice which is now, somehow, holy and acceptable to you.”

I must confess, I struggle with ever feeling acceptable to God, so this was a pretty big deal… a profound moment.

me: ‘I am holy and perfectly acceptable to you God? Really?’

God: “Yes. Really. You have my word on that.”