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.
Friday, November 09, 2012
Thursday, November 08, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, November 05, 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, November 04, 2012
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.
"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.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sunday, April 04, 2010
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