Servant of God's Servants

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One Body in Christ

Romans 12 reminds us that we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we should because we are all one in the body of Christ. That means that, as members of Christ's body, we each have a different responsibility, but we are all one. We love each other. We respect each other. We are not jealous when someone else is promoted. We all work together.

Next, Paul reminds us to use our gifts. We each have gifts and abilities that God has given us. We need to identify and use those gifts. We must identify our gifts and use them for God's glory. We must not bury our talents in false humility.

Lord, help me to be one with everyone else in Your body, the church. Help me to have perfect love as You do. Help me to serve You and others around me for Your glory.

Be Transformed

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may  prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Paul reminds us, that as Christians, we are not to be like the people around us. We need to be transformed into the image of Christ. The way this transformation takes place is not by following a set of rules. Instead, our minds must be renewed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When we become transformed into the image of Christ, we prove what God's will is by our daily living.

Lord, help me to be transformed by Your Spirit. Help me to live a life that displays Your will so that other can see by my life, how You want people to live.

A Living Sacrifice

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Romans 12:1

Paul "urges" us. He desperately wants us to give our bodies for the service of God, not as a dead animal sacrifice of the Old Testament, but as a living and holy sacrifice. He begs us to sacrifice our lives. This is and every day process. Everything we think, say and do must be surrendered to God. We must live holy lives, just as Jesus did when He lived on earth. This is the kind of worship that is most pleasing to God.

Lord, help me to sacrifice my life for You every day. Help me to live by the direction of Your Spirit. Help me to give up anything in my life that does not align with Your will.

Wisdom and Knowledge of God

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:33-36

Wisdom and knowledge: God is the source and the embodiment of both. Without Him is no knowledge. He gave us all the wisdom and knowledge we have. Yet, science works to remove Him from His own creation. Science works to prove that He doesn't exist. Even if scientists are Christians, they often try to wall off science from Christianity. This is a recipe for disaster. We can only be deceived when we reject the source of wisdom and knowledge in our lives.

Lord, send your light and your Spirit to people here on earth. We have rejected you and wondered why things are going wrong. Please forgive us and help us find our way back to You.

Pursuing a Law

What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “ BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

Romans 9:30-33

Here, Paul is comparing the Jews and the Gentiles. For the most part, the Jews were seeking God by strictly obeying a law, but they had no relationship with God. They felt that strict obedience was the way to please God.

As the Gentiles came to know Jesus, they realized that it took more than strict obedience. Being a Christian means that we, first of all, have a relationship with Jesus Christ as our King. We love Him and deeply appreciate what He has done for us. And, because He is King of our lives, we obey every detail that He shows us in the Bible and by His Holy Spirit that dwells in us.

So, in many ways, these two groups of people look alike. They both strictly obey the Bible, but the heart motivation is different. The Jews were living in grudging obedience. The Gentiles were living a joyful, fulfilling life because their obedience was based on a personal relationship with Christ, thankfulness to Him, and love for Him. May that be the way we always live.

Overwhelmingly Conquer

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 Romans 8:37-39 NASB

"All things:" God has made a way for us to win every time. When we have God's power on our side, and we call on Him to help, we can win every battle.

"Overwhelmingly conquer:" This is not a battle that could go either way. It's not a battle where the sides are closely matched. The outcome is completely certain unless we fail to use all the power that God has given us. We just need to allow the power of God to flow through us. This doesn't mean that we can sit and watch God do all the work. Spiritual battles are very real, and we need to fight, but not on our own. When God is with us, no one can stand against us.