Day Seven – What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?

Day Seven – What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?
Passage: Pet
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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.

(NIV) Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Does the term “living sacrifice” scare you a little? It should. When Paul is asking us to transform our minds and our lives in order to sacrifice, he is not joking around. The same is true with Peter’s writing. Also let’s not forget the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in , “You will be hated by all because of My name.” You will suffer as Christ did, if you are serious about obedience and humility. But learning from Christ and learning to be like Christ means that we will be living sacrifices.
So what does it mean? As we have studied this week, learning from Christ and learning to be like Christ means that we be humble. We need to be willing to set aside our own agenda. Sacrifice our time, energy, and money for the Lord to serve other men. Being a living sacrifice mean we die to ourselves. And we instead let our entire beings be used by God for his purpose. We give up our own bodies and mind to God every day. All of it is His!
It is worth it in the end. When we suffer for Christ, we are free from sin! We are choosing to do God’s will. It is amazing to fathom. As says, we are new creations in Christ. And to end with one note of encouragement: Dallas Willard upon reflecting on , asks us to imagine the cost of non-disciple. Sure the cost of discipline is high, but the cost of non-discipline is even greater (Willard, 1). Take on the yoke of the Lord and humbly serve others!

Day Six – Obedient Servant

Day Six – Obedient Servant Passage: , ,
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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.

Paul reflects on Jesus’ teaching again. In , Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” Paul goes an extra step. He says there are two choices, sin or obedience. In his letter to Romans, we see that when we offer ourselves in obedience, this is pleasing to God. It is an act of worship! Can you fathom what is happening here?
We are given only two choices, but when we decide to do the right thing, God is excited! God is happy! It is not just “status quo” to be obedient; it is not “following rules,” but an act of worship! When we obey, we are showing respect, devotion, and honor to God. And God blesses us for that. He blesses us with His will, His perfect and pleasing will. Will you be a slave for Christ? Or will you be a slave to sin? Those are the choices!

Day Five – In but not of the world Passage: Rom 12:1,2, John 17:13-16, Phil. 4:8-11

Rom 12:1,2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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.

Jn. 13-16 “And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

Phil. 4:8,9Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…” “they do not belong to this world…” Paul and Jesus both taught that Christians are to live separate and different from the rest of the secular world at large. Jesus calls us to protect others from the evil one. He reminds us of our perspective. We are not from this world, nor is anyone else, but rather, all of us are from God. This world is ruled by the evil one, Satan. We as Christians are to serve others and bring them to God. We have a paradox because we are not supposed to be a part of this world, controlled by Satan, but we are supposed to transform the people of this world. So it is necessary for us to be IN the world but we cannot conform to and be a part OF this world. Do you see the difference?
How then are we to be transformed? How do we renew our minds? The answer is simpler than one might imagine. The Word of God transforms the mind. It focuses us on God and His will. It brings pleasant thoughts to our mind. We as Christians are to reflect on those things. As Phil. 4:8,9 command us to, we are to think on things that are good.

Day Four – As bond servants

Day Four – As bond servants
Passages: Gal 2:20, 1 Pt. 1:16

Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

1Pt. 1:16 - for it is written, "Be holy because I (am) holy."
Paul claims to be a bond servant in the introduction of many of his letters, a bond-servant to Christ. What does this mean? The Greek word, behind this text is "doulos" and it basically means “slave” (Zodhiates). Another way to think about it is “one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men.” I love how Oswald Chambers puts it, “The passion of Christianity is that I deliberately sign away my own rights and become a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I do not begin to be a saint (Chambers).”
Being a bond servant or a slave is not easy. Paul is calling us to be crucified with Christ. He is calling us to live by faith, not flesh. And Peter repeats Moses’ call for us to be holy as God is holy. Romans 6:13 says, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” This means we need to do three things: First we must refuse to give ourselves to sin. Then we must yield our whole self unto God. This means to give in to surrender. Finally it means to yield ourselves as instruments of righteousness unto God. We are not slaves to sin. We are not slaves to self. We are to be slaves to God and God only.

Day Three- Jesus lived among the needy

Day Three- Jesus lived among the needy Passages: Mt. 9:11, 12, 11:28-30
Mt. 9;11, 12 The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.”
Mt. 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The Lord took favor upon the poor, oppressed, blind, sick, needy, crippled, lame, women, Samaritans, lepers, children, prostitutes and even tax collectors! – All of those at the bottom of the social pyramid. The Lord, Jesus Christ came for all men, to serve. But those who were hurting were the ones who wanted his help. (Kinnaman, 132) They were the ones who sought him out. They were the ones who accepted and really needed the Lord. Not everyone will want our help. Not everyone will desire our love and servant attitude.
Jesus faced the Pharisees and “religious leaders” who were not hurt or sick. They rejected, mocked, and persecuted him. The same will apply to us as Christians.
Also remember that Christ might want you to serve people that you never expected. Christ might be calling you to work with the poor, the sick, those who do not look like you, smell like you, or have the same background as you do. That is okay. Expect it. Do not be afraid to reach out to anyone. This might take some humility. But as we learned in our last lesson, this is what we learned from Christ.
One last note, Jesus can and wants to use you. He wants you to be salt and light (Mt. 5:13-16). He can and will use you if you are willing and ready to be humble and to be a servant to men. Remember who, Jesus Christ selected to be his disciples! They were the on the lowest end of the social totaled pole in Israel. They were “average Joes,” stinky fishermen, craftsmen, and yes, even a tax collector. The Lord wants to use you. Will you serve?

Day Two – What was Christ like?

Day Two – What was Christ like? Passage:

: 1-11Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross! As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ, as Paul writes, in one of the longest run-on-sentences in the entire Bible, was humble. He was a servant, a slave to men. We are to follow this example. If we could do one thing to change Christianity today, it is this: treat others as more important than yourself. (Kinnaman, 224) As Jesus did, and as Jesus taught, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” () When Christians really put this into action, non-believers really do notice! Re-read this passage. Mediate on it. Reflect on your own life. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal people in your life that he wants you to serve. Pray for them. And when the Lord gives you the opportunity, serve them, be ready and willing!

Learning from Jesus and learning to be like Him (one week of devotions on Christ-likeness)

Learning from Jesus and learning to be like Him
(one week of devotions on Christ-likeness)

Day One – What not to do… Passage: Eph. 4:17-20
Eph 4:17-20 With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn't what you learned about Christ. (NLT)

Paul wrote the epistle to the Ephesians. Paul founded the church at Ephesus. Paul’s Jewish background comes into play inverses like verse 17. Paul had a heart and passion to evangelize to the Jews. But Ephesians was written to Gentile believers to assure them of their full inclusion with Jewish believers in the New Covenant (Schooley). Paul, here, was warning them against sinful desires. Many Gentiles had turned away from God with hardened hearts. The sinful desires of lust and impurity darkened their minds and hardened their hearts. This is not the way they should have been living. The Ephesians, on the other hand, have the teachings for Christianity before them. Paul tells them to learn from Jesus and the things they have seen and heard from him. The Spirit of the Lord was upon them, and the dispositions and sins that the Gentiles struggled with, do not have to be a serious issue to the Ephesians. Paul tells the Ephesians not to do these things, but instead learn from Jesus. In the next six devotions, we are going to learn from Jesus. We will learn to be more like Christ.

Thoughts on Forgivness

From Oswlad Chambers:

"Forgiveness means not merely that I am saved from hell and made right for heaven (no man would accept forgiveness on such a level); forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a recreated relationship, into identification with God in Christ. The miracle of Redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One, by putting into me a new disposition, the disposition of Jesus Christ."

So much of Christianity is about what God does for man and it is crazy because we men want to do something in return but it is not about us. It is so not about us, it is about Him. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord! For there is nothing I can do. Lord take me and change me.
Amen.

What has been up with me recently?

Work/ Career:
Working with UPS Freight as a dockworker. It is great. Fun. But have not been getting a lot of hours. Slow economy in general, plus winter is a very slow freight season. :(

School:
Been working on two classes at a time this semester which is tough. And both classes are challenging and require a lot more research and effort than I am used to since I graduated, from Ohio University anyways. Exciting paper about Paul and the law which his coming along!


Church:
Our church is in the middle of closing on our new building. Which is really exciting. We are going to have our first service in the building on Sunday! And Thanksgiving meal! mmm.

Youth Group:
We are closing in on Dec. 13th, the date of our production. That is exciting! We need to practice more for sure though. The director might have her baby within a week or two!
I have been busy getting the float and set ready! The Lancaster parade is Saturday so not much more time!

My ear:
The doctor said it is healing up great but apparently it takes a long time to heal all the way! Despite how great it feels it is only 50% healed!

My car:
Keeps breaking. Always fun to embarrass myself trying to fix it.

Girls:
No luck yet.

should the punishment meet the crime?

In we read that "Whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God, He made man."

There is conflict not just around the topic of capital punishment and the Bible but all punishment...
What do you think? Should the punishment of any crime meet the crime?

I think it is Biblical concept...