Romans 12:1… I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (NKJV)
The opening scripture has the apostle Paul telling us that we as Christian’s, who have Christ living with-in us (Colossians 1:27…&…Galatians 2:20), need to step up to the plate, and live lives which are “acceptable to God”…
The Christian’s body becomes a temple for the Holy Spirit, who resides with-in the Christian as their life long Helper (John 14:26)…1 Corinthians 6:19-20… Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (NKJV)
Christian’s, in God’s eyes…have been bought with the blood shed by Jesus on the cross…as their sins have been imputed to Christ; with Christ’s shed blood having washed away their sins… Christian’s have been given the righteousness of Christ, as God has filled them with the Holy Spirit…2 Corinthians 5:20-21… Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (NKJV)
So as a Christian, how does one become“acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” ?? I answered this yesterday, after I quoted the scripture just after the opening scripture, in…Romans 12:2… And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)
I wrote yesterday about the need to renew our minds daily by being spiritually fed with God’s Word… Jesus taught this in… Matthew 4:4… But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (NKJV)
I also wrote this… “As Christian’s, we must stay spiritually strong by reading God’s Word as part of our regular spiritual diet… Anything less, can and will cause our conscience and our lives to be less than Spirit filled; and make way for Satan and his temptations to wreak havoc in our lives”… Here is the link for yesterday’s writing.
The dilemma for many Christian’s who are not Spirit filled…is that they must spend time in the Bible to be fed by God’s Word to become filled with the Spirit…but they don’t have the time or the ambition to read the Word everyday because they are not energized to do so without the fullness of the Holy Spirit to urge them…
This is a “Catch-22” scenario, if I have ever seen one !! As Christian you are called to “glorify God in your body and in your spirit”… We cannot be living lives that are “good and acceptable and the perfect will of God”, unless we remain filled with (controlled by) the Holy Spirit… Anything less that being totally controlled by the Holy Spirit…will be grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), which means we will be sinning… Tomorrow, I am going to do my best to help every Christian who is not totally Spirit filled…to find out how and why this perfect will of God can be accomplished…
Heavenly Father, if only we as Christian’s could all understand the responsibilities we assume, when we are graced by You with the free gift of salvation… You have called all of Your children out of this world, to become citizens of heaven…Philippians 3:20… Help each and every one of us Lord…to become good stewards of our time, as “ambassadors for Christ” … Help us by urging us to spend time daily in Your Word… Help us Lord, in our daily walk of life, to walk in step with You… Help us Lord in our weaknesses…to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit… And Lord, I pray for special blessings for each and every one of us…in Jesus’ most precious and holy name, and for His sake…Amen…
written by bruce r mills
God's group 