Verses 1,2 "I URGE you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your (reasonable) service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
That word urge is in all capitals in my Bible's text. It must be something that Paul feels very strongly about. He is urging us to listen and follow an instruction that is going to be vital to our success in this life. We are urged not to be conformed to this world. What does that mean? It means don't allow the world around you to squeeze you into its mold. We are called to be set apart. To stand out. Not to blend in. The very way we believe and react to things in life is going to be VERY different from how the rest of the world does.
We are called to not be conformed, but to be transformed. How can we be transformed? By the renewing of our minds. Renew= renovation, to replace tradition with revelation. Renovate in the natural sense means to rip out what doesn't belong and to replace it with something new and fresh. When we are renovating a house completely, we rip everything down to the studs and start to rebuild with new, higher quality materials. We build on a solid foundation and create something beautiful that will last the test of time and life.
In other words, the only way we can be successful and have our faith work in our lives is to change the way we think. We have become new creatures and everything old has been done away with. Sometimes we try to still do things the old way we've always done them. We have a newly created heart and spirit and yet our minds are still the same. So we need to constantly look to the Word to see how our minds should be thinking about the situations we are facing. The old us, may have seen the problems of debt, sickness and broken relationships in our lives and faced them with wringing hands and worrying so much we couldn't sleep. The new creature in us is formed in the image of God Himself and therefore needs to think in line with HIS thinking! So now when faced with adverse circumstances we look to His strength and His Words which tell us who we are in Christ. That we are MORE than conquerors! That Christ lives in us and brings ALL His resources with Him. So anytime we have a problem, we can face it in the power of the crucified, risen, triumphant, Lord, Who lives within us!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
February 20th ~ Romans 8
Being that this chapter is one of my favorites in the entire Bible, it is difficult to pick just one thing to expound upon! As we read through this passage, don't leave here without a sense of how VERY BLESSED we are! We learn that we are not only delivered from the power of the flesh and all that wars against it, but we have been made sons and daughters by the Spirit! That the Spirit helps all our weaknesses, that God has set us up for VICTORY and that NOTHING can separate us from His GREAT LOVE!
That is GOOD NEWS, friends! Firstly, that the Spirit Himself has made His abode in us and there can be NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Those who are of the flesh cannot please God, but we are no longer of the flesh, because the Spirit of God now dwells in us! Verse 11 says that if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will ALSO give life to or quicken your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in YOU! Wow! If you are dealing with symptoms in your body, I encourage you to camp out on that verse until you are fully persuaded! The Spirit Who raised Jesus, Who had every disease known to man placed upon Him, Who took all of it with each lash of the whip, for you and me, then went to hell and battled for three days with the enemy and overcame him, then the Spirit caused healing power to flow through His body and raised Him after 3 days in the grave...yup, that same Spirit is making that same power available to us today!
Verse 26 says that it is the Spirit Who helps our weaknesses, for very often we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words! Have you ever prayed about something as much as you knew how, but just didn't know what else to say? When we switch over to that wonderful gift of praying in other tongues, that's when the Holy Spirit can hook up with our spirits and pray perfect prayers. How awesome is that? We have a helper Who wants our prayer life to be successful and intercedes for us!
Paul wraps up this passage with some of the most encouraging words...verse 31b "If God is for us, who can be against us?" And verses 34-39 speaks of many, many things we may have to endure during our time on earth, but through all these things we overwhelming conquer through Him Who loved us. No matter what you are facing in your life today, Christ has made you an overcomer. There is nothing you can't face with Jesus by your side. No matter who comes in and out of your life, or what comes your way, NOTHING can separate you from the LOVE of God!
That is GOOD NEWS, friends! Firstly, that the Spirit Himself has made His abode in us and there can be NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Those who are of the flesh cannot please God, but we are no longer of the flesh, because the Spirit of God now dwells in us! Verse 11 says that if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will ALSO give life to or quicken your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in YOU! Wow! If you are dealing with symptoms in your body, I encourage you to camp out on that verse until you are fully persuaded! The Spirit Who raised Jesus, Who had every disease known to man placed upon Him, Who took all of it with each lash of the whip, for you and me, then went to hell and battled for three days with the enemy and overcame him, then the Spirit caused healing power to flow through His body and raised Him after 3 days in the grave...yup, that same Spirit is making that same power available to us today!
Verse 26 says that it is the Spirit Who helps our weaknesses, for very often we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words! Have you ever prayed about something as much as you knew how, but just didn't know what else to say? When we switch over to that wonderful gift of praying in other tongues, that's when the Holy Spirit can hook up with our spirits and pray perfect prayers. How awesome is that? We have a helper Who wants our prayer life to be successful and intercedes for us!
Paul wraps up this passage with some of the most encouraging words...verse 31b "If God is for us, who can be against us?" And verses 34-39 speaks of many, many things we may have to endure during our time on earth, but through all these things we overwhelming conquer through Him Who loved us. No matter what you are facing in your life today, Christ has made you an overcomer. There is nothing you can't face with Jesus by your side. No matter who comes in and out of your life, or what comes your way, NOTHING can separate you from the LOVE of God!
Friday, February 15, 2013
February 14th ~ Romans 4
What an amazing passage of scripture is Romans chapter 4! So many great nuggets in this one. We learn that it was Abraham's act of believing God's promise (or we could say faith) which reckoned righteousness (or right-standing with God) unto himself. It was not according to any works, that he could then boast in himself. Our righteousness is based upon us believing that Jesus took our sin and shame, was punished with a death on the cross because of it and rose again victorious over it!
It is only by faith through grace that we, too, are justified (verse 16). When God changed Abram's name to Abraham, God was calling those things which be not as though they were! He was now referring to him as "father of many nations". Verse 17 says, "even God, Who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist." Abram did something with what God told him. He starting referring to himself as Abraham! This was his faith in action! Verse 18 says, "In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become the father of many nations. Verse 19..."Without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was near a hundred years of age, and the deadness of Sarah's womb."
Wow! SO Abraham was human just like you and me! He contemplated his own body. What does that mean? It means he faced facts. You might have to face facts today yourself. You might have to face that debt head on or that negative medical report that shows some 'facts' about the current condition of your body. It also said that in doing so, he did not allow himself to become weak in faith! Verse 20 says, "YET, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in faith (what he was believing...God's promise to him), but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. Verse 21, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform! Verse 22, Therefore it was also reckoned to him as righteousness."
We are made in the likeness and image of Almighty God! Therefore, we, too, are to call things into existence! Our main obstacle is the very same as Abraham's...being fully persuaded. What did Abraham do in the natural to become fully persuaded? Go back and read it again. 1. He contemplated or faced facts. 2. He gave respect to the promise of God. In other words we could say he went back to the Word that he heard and gave it first place. No matter how he "felt" about the circumstances he was facing, he CHOSE to only speak the Word. 3. He grew stronger in faith. We know that faith only comes by hearing and hearing the Word (Rom. 10:17) and by continually planting seeds (the Word) deep into our hearts. 4. He gave glory to God. This is how we water the seeds we have planted. We give thanks to God that the answer is on the way. That He is moving on our behalf. That He is our Strong Tower, our Deliverer, our Mighty God, All-powerful, Magnificent, our Healer, our Counselor, our Advocate, our High Priest, our Provider, EVERYTHING we need Him to be! When we give Him glory, it's not just to bless Him, but rather it increases our faith in His Never Ceasing Love and ability toward us! Then we will have those things which He promised to us, just like Abraham.
It is only by faith through grace that we, too, are justified (verse 16). When God changed Abram's name to Abraham, God was calling those things which be not as though they were! He was now referring to him as "father of many nations". Verse 17 says, "even God, Who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist." Abram did something with what God told him. He starting referring to himself as Abraham! This was his faith in action! Verse 18 says, "In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become the father of many nations. Verse 19..."Without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was near a hundred years of age, and the deadness of Sarah's womb."
Wow! SO Abraham was human just like you and me! He contemplated his own body. What does that mean? It means he faced facts. You might have to face facts today yourself. You might have to face that debt head on or that negative medical report that shows some 'facts' about the current condition of your body. It also said that in doing so, he did not allow himself to become weak in faith! Verse 20 says, "YET, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in faith (what he was believing...God's promise to him), but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. Verse 21, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform! Verse 22, Therefore it was also reckoned to him as righteousness."
We are made in the likeness and image of Almighty God! Therefore, we, too, are to call things into existence! Our main obstacle is the very same as Abraham's...being fully persuaded. What did Abraham do in the natural to become fully persuaded? Go back and read it again. 1. He contemplated or faced facts. 2. He gave respect to the promise of God. In other words we could say he went back to the Word that he heard and gave it first place. No matter how he "felt" about the circumstances he was facing, he CHOSE to only speak the Word. 3. He grew stronger in faith. We know that faith only comes by hearing and hearing the Word (Rom. 10:17) and by continually planting seeds (the Word) deep into our hearts. 4. He gave glory to God. This is how we water the seeds we have planted. We give thanks to God that the answer is on the way. That He is moving on our behalf. That He is our Strong Tower, our Deliverer, our Mighty God, All-powerful, Magnificent, our Healer, our Counselor, our Advocate, our High Priest, our Provider, EVERYTHING we need Him to be! When we give Him glory, it's not just to bless Him, but rather it increases our faith in His Never Ceasing Love and ability toward us! Then we will have those things which He promised to us, just like Abraham.
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