“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. 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.
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:1-3 NASB1995)
What does it look like if we are conformed to this world? It would mean that we are still walking in sin, still living to please ourselves, feeding our minds and our hearts with the garbage that the world has to offer us, living in immorality, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, going our own way, doing our own thing, living opposite of God’s design, and purpose, and will for our lives. We would be those who accept and who adhere to the values of human flesh and who are not living according to the teachings of the Scriptures.
Even those of us of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, if we are not careful, and if our hearts are not guarded, can fall back into some of these worldly patterns of behavior. And this isn’t usually like a quick change of life course, but it usually comes on subtly with one little compromise at a time, some of which may appear innocent and innocuous at the time, but with each little step in the wrong direction it leads one further and further away from the Lord and from his design, purpose, and will for our lives. So be discerning!
Therefore, we are being urged here, because of God’s mercies to us, and in his power, strength, and wisdom, to resist the urges of our flesh which lead to sin, and instead to present our bodies (our whole beings) to God as living and holy sacrifices to God. And to be holy is to be set apart (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, by God, as we cooperate with God in his work of grace in our lives. And this takes discipline and determination.
And this is our spiritual worship of God when our lives are surrendered to the Lord to doing his will and purpose for our lives, and we are no longer walking in sin, making sin our habit. For it is not worship of God just to give lip service only to him. It is not worship of God only just to sing songs of worship to God, especially if our lives are not given over to the Lord to obey him in all things, and to live holy lives pleasing to him. It is not worship of God to sing worship songs and then to live life the way that we want.
So, what should our lives look like if our bodies are given over to the Lord as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to him? We should be feeding our minds with the things of God, not with the things of the world. And this is not saying that we go live in a cave somewhere separate from everyone. We are to live in the world, but not of it. And we are to shine as lights for the truth of the gospel in the world while not conforming our lives to the sinful patterns of the world. And that can be done by the grace of God.
And this doesn’t mean that we go around with death written all over our faces, or that we cannot laugh and smile and enjoy life. We can be serious minded for God and for his teachings, and walk in obedience to the Lord in holy living, and still enjoy life, as long as we stay within the boundaries God has set for us with regard to the things we should and should not do as those who are his followers (disciples, believers in Jesus Christ). And some of those boundaries may need to be more carefully defined for us, too.
And if we are doing well spiritually, and we are no longer living to please the flesh, in habit, but we are living to please the Lord, we should not become conceited and think more highly of ourselves than we ought. For it is only by the grace of God, and in the power of God, that any of us can live holy lives, pleasing to God. And it doesn’t take much to be reminded of some of our past failures in order to humble us, too. But we should not think less of ourselves, either, but to see ourselves as God sees us, with sober judgment.
So, if you are someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, but you know that you are not living life as you ought, for the glory and praise of God, but you are still habitually giving way to sin, I pray that you will repent of (turn away from, die to) your sin and that you will now serve the Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, for your own sake. And I must let you know that the Scriptures teach that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, that we will not have eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70
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