Thursday, 18 June 2020 Romans 12:1-8
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, ………………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. -Romans 12:1-2
True worship is offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. In order to be able to fulfill God’s good, pleasing and perfect will for us, there are three aspects that need to be put in line in our lives according to the Word of God.
We are to surrender our bodies to God as living sacrifices
We are not to be conformed to this world
We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds
The first step is to make a total surrender to God and committing our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. Surrendering our bodies means surrendering our whole self. A living sacrifice would mean we consciously, willingly give ourselves in obedience to God. This is the will of God for us all. Once we make the decision to obey God’s will, God will work in our lives to transform us inwardly, thereby renewing our minds. It is important that we know that we are the temple of the living God and that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. 1Corinthians 3: 17 says, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”
Secondly, we are not to be conformed to the standards of this world. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. It is easy to fall into the “mould” of this world if we are not on guard. The Word of God teaches us very clearly that if we are falling prey to the enticements of this world, we come under the power of the evil one. But the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know and be in Him who is true- Jesus Christ. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15 –17).
Many of us have committed our lives to the Lord but haven't been able to renew our minds through God's Word. The transformation does not happen overnight, but with cooperating with the Holy Spirit to renew us inwardly. We have to continually allow God’s Word to renew our thinking patterns which are mostly affected by the standards of this world. There has to be a willful decision on our part not to conform to the patterns of this world but yield ourselves to obey God’s Word which will transform us. If we keep our minds focused on God through the study of His Word and fellowship with Him, then we will enjoy His abundant life. Making our thinking line up with God's Word will affect this complete transformation in our lives.
Going through these three processes, will help us align ourselves to know God’s good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives!
Prayer: LORD Jesus, I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice and I pray that You would renew my mind so I may know Your perfect will in my life on this earth. Amen.