Paul's urging to not conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of one's mind is a reminder of Jesus's first words of His public ministry, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." In other words, our access to the kingdom of heaven is just on the other side of our repentance (the changing of our thinking). Change your thoughts and you can change your life.

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When Paul says that the church should "not conform to the pattern (culture) of this world", he was implying that the world is our place of origination. Think about it, in order to conform to a culture, that means you were originally from another. Friend, you are not from here! You were not produced of this world, but produced of Heaven from God's Spirit before the foundation of the earth (see Eph 1:4). Therefore the reason you are here on assignment is because you're not from here! Instead, you were sent here!

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I want to begin this week by reminding you that you are on assignment. You are not here by mistake, you were placed here with a purpose. God desires to expand the Kingdom of Heaven through your everyday living. Paul warns against conforming to the pattern (culture) of this world. While we are in the world, we are not of the world – we are of God. Therefore be careful to not compromise your calling for the culture of this world. Don’t compromise the greatness God has invested in you for the distractions of this world. The first step to renewing your mind is remembering who you are.

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The last requirement of being a living sacrifice is that our lives would be pleasing to God. What does it mean to live in a way that's pleasing to Him? This can be answered by asking a simple question in our everyday decisions: "Would God be pleased with this?" It's not so much of a question of will I lose my salvation, because that is determined by our faith (Romans 10:9). But the real question is, would the Father be pleased with what I've done with the life He has given me? Because it's living a life pleasing in His sight that positions us to live our best lives.

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Another layer to our commitment to God is described by the word "holy." To be holy is to be consecrated or set apart for the purpose of God. Paul urges the church to be holy, that we would be completely committed to God in our everyday living. This means that we must not be divided in our commitment, offering a portion of ourselves to God and reserving a portion for the world. Instead, we must be singular in the dedication of our lives unto God. Therefore, holiness is not how we describe the church that praises God enthusiastically, instead holiness is the state God desires the whole church would be, undivided in its commitment towards the purposes of the King and his Kingdom.

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A key requirement of a sacrifice offered to God is that it must be alive. This was the case with animals that were brought to the priests but even more important for our own selves as we offer our lives as living sacrifices unto God. The word "living" in the Greek means to be full of vigor, efficient and effective. That means that God desires that we would not simply be in existence, but that we would be fully alive as we live for Him. I can say it confidently that God desires a thryving sacrifice from each of us. Sacrifice signifies death, however, unlike the animal that loses its life all together, when we offer our lives to God, this is the moment we really start living (see Matthew 17:33 MSG). Therefore the only death that takes place when we sacrifice ourselves, is the death to our old selves and but we celebrate the birthing of our new selves (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Come alive today and be a thryving sacrifice for God!

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When considering the idea of offering our lives as a sacrifice, it's easy to offer what's convenient, comfortable and partial. This couldn't be further from the truth. I believe this is described best by the Message translation as it says: "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering" (Romans 12:1 MSG). This means that God desires to use every aspect of who we are for His glory. He has no interest in only using what's convenient or comfortable for us, but all of us – not to burden us but to empower us to live our best lives. Today, I encourage you to offer God your whole life so you can live your best life.

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In Romans 12:1, Paul urged the believers to offer their whole lives as a living sacrifice to God. In other words, he was encouraging them to be ALL IN! After considering all that God has done for us, this is our only worthy response. Today, I encourage you to embrace the challenge of being "ALL IN" in your relationship with God, offering Him your whole life for His purpose. Join us this week in Prayer 365 to learn what this truly means. Visit our show page at https://thryve.church/prayer365