Wednesday, April 09,
2014, 10:00 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind “All Through the Night.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I
read Romans 12 (NIV).
Pleasing to God
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.
Because of what Jesus Christ did for us in dying for our
sins so that we could go free from the power of sin over our lives, we are
strongly encouraged here to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to God. To sacrifice something means to forgo, forfeit, surrender,
give up and/or let go of something which we might naturally want to hold on to.
In this case, the offering is “prescribed by God; hence an offering the Lord
accepts because it is offered on His terms” (Source: http://biblehub.com/greek/2378.htm).
In other words, the correct and appropriate response to God’s love, grace and
mercy toward us is for us to surrender and submit our lives (mind, heart, soul
and body) to him, and for his purposes.
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, by God’s grace and
the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are crucified with Christ so
that we (the “I” in us) no longer live, but Christ now lives within us, and the
lives we live, we live by faith in the Son of God who gave himself up for us
(See Gal. 2:20). We died to sin, so that we should no longer live in it (See
Ro. 6). He died so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for
us (See 2 Co. 5:15). This is our true and proper worship of him to give
ourselves to God in order to live holy lives pleasing to him, no longer
conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but transformed by the Spirit of
God within us in the renewing of our minds away from sin and toward walking in
God’s righteousness and holiness (See Eph. 4:17-24; Ac. 26:16-18; Tit. 2:11-14).
With this attitude in mind, we are then able to do the
following by God’s grace and mercy and love within us, and in his power and
strength and life working in and out through us.
Humble in Heart
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.
If we have truly died to sin, in the power and working of
the Spirit of God within us, and we have been transformed in heart and mind
away from sin and toward walking in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, and
the life of Christ is now being lived out through us, and we have given our
lives over to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, although our
flesh may still fight against us at times, we can, by the grace of God, live
lives of humility and service to others. We can have the appropriate self-image
which sees ourselves through God’s eyes, both in seeing where we have come from,
and what we have become by God’s grace, so that we do not exalt ourselves beyond
measure, nor do we degrade ourselves.
Sincere in Love
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.
In Christ Jesus we can thus have sincere love for one
another. Not all of what we call “love” is truly sincere or truly love, though.
Sometimes we get this “Hollywood” or “Cultural” or “Societal” idea of what love
is instead of the Biblical teaching on what love is, and thus we end up doing
and saying things in the name of “love” which are actually contradictory to
what true love is really all about. True love cares more about the true needs
of others than it does about itself, often risking its own reputation and
acceptance in order to demonstrate divine love and grace to others. Divine love
hates what is evil and it clings to what is good. It does not placate evil
(sin), it is not entertained by it, and it does not ignore it in favor of
making others “feel good” about themselves. True love shows compassion, mercy,
kindness, generosity, and affection, et al, yet it is not false to those whom
it claims to love all in the name of “love and kindness.” True love is sincere,
honest, open, genuine and straight. It never compromises truth, faith and
commitment to God for acceptance of others.
Live in Harmony
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.
When we have truly died to sin by God’s grace, and we have
given ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him as our
true and proper worship of him, we will most likely face persecution and even
hatred from those who oppose or who are disposed to being indifferent to such a
relationship with God/Christ. Yet, we are not to trade “tit for tat,” but we
are instead to treat our enemies well and/or to speak well of them, not in
insincerity or in false flattery, but we should treat them with kindness and
not in retaliation. We should not rejoice over sin and wrongdoing, but we
should share in other’s joys as is appropriate, as well as we should sympathize
with them in their sorrows, again as is appropriate for God’s holy people.
As far as it depends on us, we should live at peace with
everyone. Yet, we should never compromise our faith and convictions or the word
of God, nor should we deny Christ in order to please humans. We are to live to
please God, not humankind. Yet, as far as we are able to please others and to
be at peace with them without compromising our faith and convictions, we should
do so. We should treat our enemies with kindness and respect, giving to them as
they have need, and as we are able, yet we should not become one with them
thinking that is the way to “win” them to Christ. We should continue to stand
for Christ and for the gospel of Jesus Christ and to give ourselves to God as
living sacrifices even in the face of severe persecution and hatred directed
toward us.
All Through the Night
/ An Original Work / December 7, 2013
Based off Various
Scriptures
Blessed are you when
you’re persecuted
Because of your faith
in Jesus Christ.
Blessed are you when
people insult you,
And falsely say what
leads folks to doubt.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is
Great in the heavens.
You’re not alone.
When you are
persecuted in one place,
Flee to another. God
will be there.
You will be hated by
all the nations
Because you testify of
God’s grace.
Many will seize you
and persecute you,
And put to death the
foll’wers of Christ.
Yet, do not fear what
humans may do to you,
For I’m with you all
through the night.
I tell you, love your
enemies with my love,
And forgive as I
forgave you.
Pray for those who do
evil against you.
Rest in my love and
grace from above.
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