It is that time of year where we take a few weeks and look at a specific passage of scripture and dig in. For our Winter Bible Study this year we will be looking at Romans 12; Dedicated Service, Living for God. I encourage you to grab your Bible and join us. If you need one let us know and we will get you one. We are exploring the adjustments we need to make to serve our Lord in a way that honors Him. Who have we been living for lately? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We jumped right in and learned that as we live we need to look at things differently. We read the words to describe the life we should live; holy and sacrifice. Live a life that is set apart, different. A life that puts the consideration of others above our own, sacrifice. The writer reminds us that we are accountable to God. This life he talks about must be acceptable to God.

Romans 12:1-2; NLT; And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

With this understanding of who we should live for comes the concept of who’s example should we follow. We tend to follow the example of others. We may choose someone who is popular, or maybe someone who is in leadership. We may choose someone who we want to follow in our career path. There are many reasons we choose to let someone else’s choices guide our lives.

We all have heroes, people we admire, people we desire to emulate as we live our lives. We copy their style, colors, fashions. We seek to become them. While it can be beneficial to follow a good example, it is detrimental to follow an example that reflects a selfish, me first attitude. We have seen the damage done in lives that follow wrong examples. We need to be careful who we choose to follow and who we choose to emulate.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

It seems obvious that if we desire to live for God, He should be the one that is teaching us how to think. When we decide to live for Christ we need to allow Him to change the way we think. When we do that we start the journey to a new destination. We begin the transformation to becoming a new person. The benefit of this transformation is that we will start to be able to see God, His hand in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

It is no surprise to us that there are different views of the events that happen around us. When something happens there are many different opinions of what went on. It always amazes me when someone thinks they know exactly what happened and is ready to place blame on the offending parties, sometimes those involved are not sure what actually happened. They have no consideration for the facts, just convinced they know what happened and who is at fault. Then information comes to light that shows they were totally wrong.

The reality is we don’t know the whole story. What we see is filtered through our understanding. There isn’t one of us that knows everything, in spite of the fact that some think they do. There is always more to the story than meets the eye. Where do we get the patience to wait until we understand the situation?

That comes from God, let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

I am reminded of some of the character traits of God and how they indicate we should take the high road in all situations. What’s the high road?

Galatians 5:22b-23a; … patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Not our first thoughts are they? Especially in the heat of the moment. Sometimes it isn’t even a pressure packed situation and we have trouble processing a response that doesn’t tear down those around us. We are taught in God’s Word to value life above all things, yet, we tear the lives of others apart when things don’t go our way. Allow me to say, that doesn’t honor God and if we are trying to live for Him then we need to think differently.

God is the only one who can help us do that. He is the only one that can transform us. He desires to show us the best way to live, the most satisfying and fulfilling way to live. He won’t force us though. We need to allow Him. The Word says “let God”.

There is a benefit to letting God teach us how to think: “Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I am reminded of the contrast between what God has for us and what the enemy desires to do to us.

John 10:10; NLT; The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

As we move forward in our study the concept of knowledge comes up. Read ahead and see that our knowledge is limited but God is all knowing, our faith is limited but nothing is impossible with God.

Romans 12:3b; NLT; … Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Blessings,

Pastor Don