When I came to understand the salvation offered to me by Jesus Christ, I was immediately transformed out of darkness into light. I was born again, into a living hope, and that transformation was immediate and complete. However, one of the things I quickly understood, was that my knowledge of the Word of God was as incomplete as it was before my transformation. I had to take time to understand the Word of God so that my mind might be renewed! Romans 12:2 is a reminder that it is the mind that our new nature and our old humanness are intermixed, and it is here that we make choices as to whether we will express our new nature in holiness or allow our fleshly humanness to act in unholiness. We must allow the Word of God to transform us through the renewing of our minds. When I think back to when I came to Christ, and how incomplete and simple my understanding of the Word of God was, I am amazed at the amount of understanding that the Lord has permitted me to obtain, as I have invested time in knowing His Word. The key to learning to live a … READ MORE

As we consider Romans 12:1-2 we are reminded that the living sacrifice we are to offer the Lord who died for us is the willingness to surrender to Him all our hopes, plans, and everything that is precious to us, all that is humanly important to us, all that we find fulfilling. The reason for this is because Jesus has already made the only “dead” sacrifice the New Covenant requires, all that remains for worshippers today is the presentation of themselves as living sacrifices. Christians who offer a living sacrifice of themselves usually do not consider it to be a sacrifice, the only things we entirely give up for God are sin and sinful things, which only bring us injury and death. But when we offer God the living sacrifice of ourselves, He does not destroy what we give Him but refines it and purifies it, not only for His glory but for our present and eternal good. The only spiritual service of worship that honors and pleases God is the sincere, loving, thoughtful, and heartfelt devotion and praise of His children. … READ MORE

According to Romans 12:11-2 we are to yield our bodies continually to the Lord. Under od’s control, our unredeemed bodies can and should become instruments of righteousness. It is because our bodies are still mortal and sinful that, “having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). WE cannot prevent the remnants of sin from persisting in our mortal bodies, but we are able, with the Lord’s power, to keep that sin from ruling our bodies. Since we are given a new, Spirit-indwelt nature through Christ, sin cannot reign in our souls. And we must choose not to allow sin to reign in our bodies. Paul admonishes us, by God’s mercies, to offer our imperfect but useful bodies to the Lord as “a living and holy sacrifice.” We need to remember, that Gods’ first and most important requirement for acceptable worship has always been a faithful and obedient heart. The ability to Choose to overcome sin in this body comes from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as He applies the Word of God to our hearts, and therefore transforms our … READ MORE