How We Live is a Sacrifice to God

The word sacrifice is mentioned many times in the Bible. The sacrifices that God commanded the Israelites to make in the Old Testament pointed to the cross and Jesus' sacrifice of Himself for us. Because of Calvary, the animal sacrifices are not necessary, but that does not mean that we should not still offer things to God. 
Sacrifices we should make to God every day:
~ Thanksgiving ~ Psalm 107:22 - “And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.” God wants us to be thankful and to tell others of what He has done for us. (See also Psalm 50:14 and 116:17)
~ Praise - Hebrews 13:15 - “By him [Jesus] therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” There is never a time that we should not be praising God in some way! I have heard it said that with every breath, we actually speak God's name. Just the fact that we have life is enough to praise the Lord about now and for ever and ever!
~ our body ~ Romans 12:1 - “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” God created our body just the way He wanted it to be so that we can use it to serve Him and glorify Him with it.
~ righteousness ~ Psalm 4:5 - “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.” By living in a way that honors the Lord, our lives become a living sacrifice that pleases Him.
~ joy and singing - Psalm 27:6 - “And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.” Because God has delivered us from sin, the darkness of satan and his power, (and continues to fight for us when satan attacks us to get us off track and to keep us from praising the Lord), we have great reason to have joy!
What God would rather us do than make animal sacrifices:

~ live in a way that is just and of honest judgment - Proverbs 21:3

~ be obedient to what God has called us to do - 1 Samuel 15:22

~ repent from sin with brokenness and humility - Psalm 51:6, 16, 17

Why sacrifice must be pleasing to God:
God is holy and because of His holiness and sacrifice of Himself when Jesus died on the cross, He is worthy of and deserves our lives being a reflection of His holiness in all we do, say and think.
Throughout the Minor Prophets we find that the people of Israel were living in sin by worshipping false gods, being immoral, and prideful, all while claiming to love God and enjoying all the things with which He had blessed them. They were making animal sacrifices to God but their hearts were not right with God, and the animals they were sacrificing were not according to the laws that God had given them. A sacrificial animal was to be perfect with no “blemish” or sickness, because it was a picture of Jesus, Who was and is without sin. 
God asks the Israelite people in Malachi 1:8 - “And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.” In this verse God is trying to get the people to see the sin and foolishness of their ways. If they would not offer it to the governor or ruler of their land, because they knew it would not be worthy of his acceptance since it was sick, then why would they offer it to God? Just as God desired that their hearts be right with Him more than the sacrifices of animals that they made, He desires the same for us. If we were to dress or act better in the presence of our president than we do for God or going to church, then we may need to get some things right with the Lord! God deserves the “bestest of the best” from us!
Even though it is not necessary for us to sacrifice animals now, how we live is a sacrifice to God, that should be pleasing to Him. We do still sin as Christians because we still have a sin nature until we get to Heaven, but we have the power of the Holy Spirit, the Bible and prayer to help us live in a way that is glorifying to God.
Is your life “a living sacrifice” that is pleasing to God and pointing others to His holiness?