Sunday, June 30, 2013,
8:28 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Fully Ready” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my
heart. I read Romans 12 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012&version=NIV
Therefore,
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s
will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For
by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more
highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in
accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each
of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the
same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member
belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace
given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance
with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give
generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it
cheerfully.
Love
must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one
another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal,
but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in
affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.
Practice hospitality.
Bless
those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who
rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not
be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be
conceited.
Do
not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of
everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with
everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath,
for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the
contrary:
“If
your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to
drink.
In
doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Sacrifices
In view (examination; analysis; consideration) of God’s
mercy to us in sending his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins,
so that we could be free from sin, we are urged to offer our bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. So, how do we do that?
Die Daily
Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny
himself (his self-life) and take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and self)
and follow (obey) Christ (See Lu. 9:23-25). Paul, in the Spirit, said that “our
old self was crucified with Christ so that the body ruled by sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has
died has been set free from sin” (See Rm. 6). So, we no longer should allow sin
to reign (rule) in our mortal bodies so that we obey its evil desires, but
rather we should offer our bodies (includes our will, thoughts, attitudes,
mind, emotion and actions) to God as instruments of righteousness. This means
that daily we die to what we want, and we seek to please our Lord instead, and
we choose not to give in to sin, but to live for Christ.
Do Not Conform
We also choose to no longer conform (adapt; acclimate;
modify) our lives to the way in which this sinful world thinks, behaves, and/or
believes, and/or to what it values as most important. We don’t participate in
what is sinful, nor should we allow ourselves to be entertained by what is
sinful. We can be so easily desensitized to the things of this world to where
we follow the ways of the world without even thinking that what we are doing is
wrong or is displeasing to our Lord. So, we should pray and ask the Holy Spirit
of God to speak to our hearts concerning any areas of our lives where we are
still conforming to the pattern of this world, and then we should allow the
Holy Spirit to transform us in our minds and attitudes, which will then result
in a change in behavior. I pray this for myself.
Be Humble
We should not have an overdeveloped sense of
self-importance, but instead we should evaluate ourselves by God’s standards
and by honest and realistic thinking. It doesn’t take much at all for me to be
reminded of my failures, and my past sins, and to recognize that it is only by
the grace of God that I am still alive and that he is still using me for his
glory. None of us should have any reason to be full of pride, because all that
we have, we have received from God. We did nothing to earn it or deserve his
grace to us in its many forms. So, we have no cause to think we are better than
others. Yet, that does not mean we should become one with the world just so the
people of this world, or of the worldly church, will not accuse us of being
conceited when we choose not to participate in sin, or when we obey our Lord
Jesus by coming out from the world and being separate.
Participate in the
Body Life
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ via forsaking our sins
and choosing to walk in obedience with our Lord Jesus, we become members of his
body along with other believers in Christ. And, God has assigned each of us a
part in the body, and his Spirit has given to each of us specific spiritual
gifts to be used within the body for the edification, encouragement,
instruction, and spiritual growth of the body of Christ (Cf. 1 Co. 12; Ep. 4). These
assignments are not those we select ourselves or that a local church fellowship
might ask us to do, most likely, as they are not to be equated with natural
talents or with specific church ministries, though the Lord may use them with our
natural talents and within the context of church ministries.
These are spiritual assignments given by God to us
individually in the way he had planned for our lives even before we were born. And,
these God-given assignments within the body of Christ may not even fit within
traditional church (institutional) ministries, but may be “outside the box,” so
to speak. Yet, what is most important is that we listen for God to give us our
assignments, and that we obey him fully in doing what he has assigned us to do,
even if we are not accepted within the confines of traditional institutional
religion but must operate “outside the box.” After all, that is what Jesus did.
And, we are to be like him.
Love Others
We should love others the way in which Jesus loves us. We
should be sincere and honest (lovingly), and not superficial and phony. We
should hate all that is evil. In other words, loving others does not mean we
have to accept sin, or that we have to be silent about sin. Jesus was honest
with people about their sin, and he told them the truth, which is why so many
hated him and/or deserted him. In fact, he loved them enough to be truthful
with them about sin, knowing they might hate and reject him in return, because
he cared about their eternal destiny, and he cared about the kind of life they
were living now, and about their relationship with God. Yet, he always gave
them a message of hope, providing they would repent of their sins and turn to
walk in faith and obedience to Christ.
Loving others also does not mean we have to follow in the
ways of this world just so people will like us or just so they will think we
accept them. We can love others and still keep our spiritual fervor for the
Lord Jesus in obeying his commands. I think sometimes we get a distorted notion
of what it means to love because we have bought into the world’s idea of what
love is. Being devoted to one another, and honoring one another above ourselves
does not mean we compromise our beliefs, values, or Christian principles, or
that we back away from talking about Jesus for fear people will think we are
hyper-religious. Jesus was hyper-religious by today’s definition of what that
means. Jesus didn’t change who he was to be accepted by others. The way in
which he honored others and was devoted to them was through meeting their
needs, healing their diseases, and by telling them the truth about their sin;
and about what is required of them to have a relationship with God.
Follow His Example
Basically, we must follow the example of Jesus Christ in
what he did and said when he walked the face of this earth, in obeying his
teachings, and in being willing to give up our lives for the sake of his name
and of his gospel, even if we are rejected, persecuted and hated, just as Jesus
was. We must be lights for the gospel, and witnesses of his salvation. And, we
must love others in the same way in which he loves us and he gave his life for
us.
Fully Ready! / An
Original Work / June 19, 2013
Based off Acts 20-22, 26; Mt. 28:18-20; Ac. 1:8
Why are you weeping
and breaking my heart?
I’m fully ready to
suffer for Christ.
If I must die for the
sake of His name,
I am convinced it will
not be in vain.
Glory to God and to
His Son Jesus,
Who has redeemed us;
bought with His blood.
May I speak to you?
Jesus came to me;
Asked of me, “Why do
you persecute me?”
He said, “Now get up
and stand on your feet.
Go, and you’ll be told
all I have for you.
I have appointed you
as a servant,
And as a witness; you
have been sent.”
“Go into the world and
preach the gospel.
Open the blind eyes.
They will receive sight.
Turn them from
darkness to the light of Christ;
From power of the evil
one to God,
So they may receive
forgiveness of sins,
And a place among
those who’re in heav’n.”
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