An Offering to God

The other day, a friend of mine on Facebook posted a brief sentence that has been continually coming to mind.  He wrote, "너의 하루는 나를 향한 예배였느냐?" Translated, it asks, "Was your day a worship to me, a fragrant aroma in my presence?"  This question keeps coming to my mind because that truly is my desire each day, and yet, I wonder how many days my answer would have to be, "No, it was not."  I have preached and preached that each moment of each day is an opportunity to worship the Lord of the universe.  Each action and decision we make, we make in an act of worship or rebellion to our God.      As I reflect though on my day, I can't help but see the acts of rebellion and the moments of self-worship that are littered throughout the day.
How can I, a feeble and inadequate human being, truly be a worthy offering before a holy and perfect God?  It seems so defeating before I have even started.  The truth is that I can never be a pleasing offering before a holy God because I am, in my flesh, unholy and displeasing before the Lord.  But there is hope.  God, knowing that I could never in my own strength undo that which made me unholy, sent himself to correct the problem.  Jesus suffered and died to wash me clean in his sacrifice.  He rose again, conquering death so that I might have victory over that which seeks to entrap me.  I can never be a pleasing offering to God by my own strength, but in Christ, I can be a fragrant aroma before the Lord.
Take heart as you seek to make today a worship to the Lord.  In Lamentations, Jeremiah writes:
    Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The compassion and mercy of God is new every morning.  Each day is an offering to God or to ourselves.  Who is going to get today?