Living Sacrifice as Worship (4)
Living sacrifice is about our sanctification. “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God....For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification...and
Living Sacrifice as Worship (3)
If I understand that I am a living sacrifice, it will greatly affect what I think and do in the middle of human suffering. Life can be so hard sometimes; it can come at us with wave after wave of troubles. As painful as life can become, if I understand that my life is
Living Sacrifice as Worship (2)
To be a living sacrifice is that we live counter culturally. When we present ourselves as a living sacrifice, it transforms us and we begin to change our thinking. The thinking of the surrounding culture is based on another worldview with entirely different assumptions. This is that to which we do not and cannot
Living Sacrifice as Worship (1)
The ancient people worshiped God by animal sacrifices. Some of Israel’s prophets said that these sacrifices were not really what God was wanting after all (Micah 6:6-8; Isaiah 1:1-20; Jeremiah 7:22-23; Amos 5:20-24; Psalm 40:6-8); the prophets said that He was wanting His people to practice mercy, justice, and obedience instead. Jesus did away
Do You Believe?
If someone told you that your house was about to explode because of a gas leak and you believed it, you would get out immediately. We have reduced belief to head knowledge that does not require any real actionable response. That is not the NT word for believe. “Belief” in the NT Greek is
Exclusivity
Moses tended sheep for his father-in-law, Jethro, who was known as the priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1). Jethro gave Moses advice that saved him from overwork and burnout. Abraham worshiped with Melchizedek and paid tithe to this king and priest of the “Most High God” (Genesis 14:18–20). Israel being chosen for a specific mission
Destructive Ego
Ego is self-destructive. Narcissism sees only itself. It cannot face anything that denies its greatness. Failure is someone else’s fault. It will lie and steal to preserve its standing. It will lie while calling the truth a lie. It will rob while calling the robbed one a thief. Ego loves grandiosity; it creates its
Rejected Love
In the story of the Prodigal Son we see the love of the father when his son returns. Let’s step back earlier in the story to see the love of the father when the son parted. The son’s request for an early inheritance was the equivalent of wishing the father dead. The father loved
Energy Supply
Everywhere we look there are power cords and charge cords for this or that device. Everywhere we look in our lives there are charges of new energy that come to us from multiple sources. We get energy from friends and relationships. We get energy from learning and doing. We get energy by giving energy.
Dealing With Anxiety
“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul” Psalm 94:19 (NASB). When we are confronted with stressful times and situations, the natural tendency is to feel anxious. Sometimes anxiety can be overwhelming. We must not allow anxiety to have the final word. In the midst of the stressful, we pray
The Faith Of Demons
Belief that does not express itself in works is not belief. Belief is also incompatible with resistance to the divine will. John Wesley said, “The devils believe and tremble, and are devils still.” To claim belief while resisting the teachings of Jesus is unbelief. Resistance to Jesus’ teaching puts us in the company of
Engage Or Escape
The gospel song said, “I cannot wait to leave this world of sin and sorrow!” We have heard a hundred variations of that escapism line. When Christ entered our space, He knew very well what awaited Him! He fully embraced a sinful world and its suffering. He stuck to it until He finished His
Sanctifying The Tragic
Relationships can bring great joy and great sorrow. Words, decisions and deeds of another can negatively affect all persons connected to them. To be affected by this means more than picking up the pieces and moving on. It means bringing your situation to the foot of the cross and to your Lord. Take a
When God Has Not Spoken
It is dangerous to speak for God when He has not spoken. To offer prophetic words that do not come to pass have shattered the faith of many. We have all observed the person that is too quick with “a word from the Lord.” God keeps his own words but is not bound to
Giving Back New Life (2)
The idea of giving your life back to God that we have in Romans 6 is taken up again in Romans 12:1-2. Jesus gave His life to us without reservations. That gift should inspire us to give our life to Him with nothing held back. We are called on to become a living sacrifice;
Giving Back New Life (1)
Romans 6 begins with the reminder that when we come to Christ we receive new life. That born-again life is not to be given back to sin and unrighteousness, but it is to be given to God by a life of right living (righteousness). The result of presenting ourselves to God is sanctification. We
The Ananias and Sapphira Spirit
A wave of generosity was sweeping through the early NT church meeting the needs of the poor (Acts 4:32-37). People were being praised for their generosity. Ananias and Sapphira wanted that kind of praise. They gave part, pretending that it was all. They wanted credit for what they did not do. Educators and politicians
Moses’ Great Challenge
Moses had to face the tyrant of his own self before he could face the tyrant Pharaoh. He wanted to deliver his people his way; so, he killed a man. God had another way to deliver them but Moses was not yet ready. Before we can complete our mission in life we have to
Unknowing Asking
Sometimes we do not know that for which we ask. We know what we want so we hasten to ask for it. We think of all the things we would do if we could get that great windfall, that position, that place. Really? Two disciples used their mother to try to get two places
Trouble and Fear
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27 NRSV). This was Jesus’ admonition to the disciples before His departure. In that chapter Jesus promised them
Survival Mode
Businesses sometime go into a survival mode where saving the business for the long term is more important than profits in the short term. Even plants go into the survival mode in dry weather where they drop fruit rather than die. Sometimes we may go into a survival mode in our life’s journey; we
Thoughts (3)
Studying is a way of shaping and training the mind. It should be a way of arming ourselves with better tools; when rightly processed, it will make our thinking clearer and more truthful. Good biblical and theological thinking is the duty of all who follow Christ. What we believe about Him is what really
Thoughts (2)
We become what we think. We are no better or worse than our thought life. Right thinking is the foundation for character growth. It is where both intent and motive are revealed. It is where secrets are formed and played out. It matters what we think; it matters to what we are and what
Thoughts (1)
Our thoughts make or break us. The mind is where the battlefield is; it is where we win or lose. Our actions flow from our thoughts, be they pondered, or occurring in a split second. Jesus said adultery is as much consenting in one’s mind to the thought as doing the action. He taught
Defining Sin
If we only define sin as law-breaking, then we may view ourselves as pretty good persons. Jesus said that all of the law and prophets could be summed up in the Great Commandment. All of the law is really meant to express itself in loving God and others. When I fail to love, that