A Living Sacrifice

 Roman 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.

A living sacrifice is what God desires of us. Like Isaac who laid on the altar for Abraham ready to be offered up to God, God wants us willingly to give our entire life to Him. As Christian, we have already been forgiven of our sins and have been washed in the blood of Christ. We have already received the newness of life and are new creatures in Christ. The step of giving your body (Your life) a living sacrifice is a full surrender of all your hopes and desires. Our ambitions, goals, and aspirations are laid at the altar. Death to self, the removal of ourselves from the throne of our heart and putting God there. It is no longer our will, but God’s will be done. This is life experience and crossroads that all Christian come to. We don’t slowly present our bodies, but it is an act of the will that we present our life to God to use for His glory. This sacrifice means that we no longer live like the world. Our worldview is now based on God’s word. Our thoughts, way of Life, and behaviors are now conformed to how God wants us to live.

Conform Not

 Romans 12:2
​​Do not be conformed to this world,  but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..

The pressure to conform to the WOK ideology has never been greater. The freedom to believe and think according to one's own conscience only applies to those who conform to the political correctness of this present culture. The world is defined in scripture as a life living in opposition to God’s moral law and the teachings of Jesus. The philosophy of the world is to trust the arm of the flesh and believe that self is the supreme god that rules. Every man doing that seems right in their own sight. As Christians, we are not to conform to the thinking of this world that is contrary to what is good and holy and acceptable to God. We are to present our lives as a living sacrifice to God. This is the will of God, that His people be transformed, set apart from sin, transformed by His grace, showing forth the gifts of God given to each one of us. The carnal mind has been renewed into the mind of Christ. Our lives are transformed, and seek to be more like Jesus.

Transforming Power

Roman 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”-

The transforming power of God to change a life the is wrecked by sin and make it new again. A transformation that is permanent and everlasting. The heart is changed instantaneously by the grace of God. Old things are past away and all things become new. A new life is recreated in the person who puts their faith in Christ. Once I was blind, but now I see. Once I was lame, but now I walk, once I was deaf, but now I hear, once I was lost in darkness, but now I the light shines in my path. What a glorious transformation is made when we come to Christ. Then God begins a holy transformation in our lives as we present ourselves in complete surrender to His will, giving our lives in holy consecration, set apart, sanctified to live blameless without sin. We no longer conform to the ideology of this world, but we now see things through the eyes of God and righteousness. Over time as we walk with God, He shows us how to walk and how to live holy. He imparts the 3rd person of the holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit giving us the power to live acceptable and do the perfect will of God. 

God Knows

Roman 8:29 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”-

From the time of creation God in His omniscience knew that we would be born into this world. He knew that sin would also result in tragedy for the human race. Many of the bad things that happen in life are the result of sin. Because man has a free will, bad things will happen. But, not all bad things are the result of sin. The natural force of earth that cause natural disasters will often bring unfortunate events to take place. Lives are lost in earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanos, tornados, etc… These things are seen as “the acts of God” It is in these times that we wonder why God has allowed such tragedy to take place. For what purpose, did God allow a life to be taken from this world? Each life that is born into this world comes with a blueprint from the hand of God. The blueprint is design to fit all of us into His great plan. In our finite mind and understanding, we are not able to grasp the purpose of this plan. The purpose of God is that all men may come to the knowledge of His saving grace. He desires that we all be comforted to the image of Christ. The things that happen in life are ultimately for this reason. When we look around us and see the effects of sin and the suffering of those around us, we must believe that God is in control and will bring about His plan for this world and for our lives. I don’t claim to understand it all, but this one thing I know. God is good and His ways are beyond my ways. I choose to trust Him, even in the storm.