Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Thursday, May 3, 2018

Audio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/reachmanyradio/thoughts-in-worship-05-03-2018

This is devotional thought number 17 in our devotional series titled, “The Gospel According to Paul.”

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1–2).
Since God has done so much for us, in giving us His Son to be our Substitute so we would not need to die for our sins, it is reasonable that we should present ourselves to God. It is reasonable that we should surrender our best minds, bodies, and inner beings for His service everyday the Lord gives us breath. It’s the least we can do.

For some reason, it is human nature for us to lay back when we achieve a certain level of success or blessings; it’s called, “resting on your laurels.” Complacency is the killer of progress and momentum. It causes people to deceive ourselves into believing that if we take a break from whatever got us into the positive position, we can still maintain or pick up where we left off. Not only is this untrue in the secular world, but it is also untrue, and more so, in the spiritual world. If you wish to be spiritually successful and have a thriving relationship with God, retain the zeal of your first love with God, and the habits that drove you closest to Him in the first place. You entered your relationship with Him through faith. Continually submit yourself to God through the same brand of faith until Jesus returns.

Never underestimate truehearted commitment to God. Never underestimate the levels of commitment that show that we really are being transformed by the Holy Spirit. We are to be diligent in presenting our bodies to God. Any habit, trend, or practice that we cling to regarding our physical essence, that impairs our judgment or health must be completely abandoned. God does not accept lame sacrifices. In our day, a lame sacrifice is when we neglect to follow God’s laws of nature and health and proclaim that we are fully surrendered to God. A lame sacrifice is what we are when we feed our bodies with unhealthful foods and drinks. We are lame sacrifices when we do not do all we can to preserve health according to all God has revealed in Scripture. Our merciful God has given all to us, even to the point of giving us His dear Son to save us from our sins. When we continually surrender all to Him, we can expect transformational power. We can expect not to be squeezed into the world’s mold. And as we experience this transformational power, we become examples of God’s ability to make us holy, just, and good. We become examples of His power to make us all that is well-pleasing and perfect, according to His will.

I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, are you?.—L. David Harris (www.LDavidHarris.com)