Conformed to this World

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 ESV

What Paul has in mind here is this: When you look at the first verse, Paul is exhorting the believers in Rome to become living sacrifices. By this, the apostle means that we are to give our lives (bodies) in full service to God. This is not an exhortation to service for one's own greatness, but rather, a plea for the believers to give themselves entirely to God, no matter WHAT He asks, great or small.

The next verse is the obvious alternative to this. Paul is pleading with the believers not to be conformed to this world (the Greek used here is "aiowni", which essentially means "Age"). The world system is based on greed and lust of the eyes. Essentially, the world (or age) tells us that the very values embodied by Christ (love, faith, mercy, gentleness, humility, service) are to be shunned in favor of looking out for ourselves, putting ourselves above others, and valuing our desires more than God's.

The system of Christ is an upside down version of the world. Rather than putting the spotlight on ourselves, Christ asks us to put the spotlight on others. Giving ourselves the limelight, heeding our own desires and devices, is the very definition of "conforming to this world."

The Purpose of the LORD

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. Proverbs 19:21

I love to plan for the future for my family. Having grown up with a father that was in management, a mother who was fairly OCD when it came to organization and planning, it was only natural that at some point, I would eventually begin to try to organize my life at least a little bit. Part of the process of organization is creating and formulating plans. What does this big dream of mine look like? What things need to occur to make this dream a reality? In all, planning is a good thing for anyone who has a family (or anyone who doesn't, for that matter), and it will give you greater probability of success.

However, it is important for us to remember in our hearts who ultimately comes first in our lives and who ultimately has the say in what goes down. When we plan for our future, it should be with great prayer and care. We should factor in our relationship with God first, so that when we make plans, we make them with the consideration our LORD has created us for a purpose, and our plans must be created with the will of God in mind. Otherwise, our plans are truly futile. As we read in James 4,

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"--yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15

Plan your life. Plan your day. Planning is typically a prerequisite for success. However, plan with the knowledge of the will of the LORD in your heart, that your plans will be within His will and you will feel closer both to the LORD your God and an organized life!

Be Holy and Consecrate Yourselves

"Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. (Leviticus 20:7-8)"

I must say, the fact that I am actually using Leviticus in a blog post is unnerving to say the least. However, these two verses reflect a great truth about the Lord. The Lord can best be described in one word: Holy. In Isaiah 6:3, the Seraphim are flying about the throne of heaven saying,

"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. (Isaiah 6:3, NASB)"

or the 4 elders in Revelation 4:8 who said,

Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. (Revelation 4:8, NASB)

What does "Holy" mean? In short, the term holy should be looked at as meaning "set apart", "different", "separated from". To say that the LORD is holy is to, in essence, say that the LORD is set apart from all of existence, a exalted, highly esteemed and praised above all the earth. The LORD is unique, separated from sinfulness and the fallenness of creation. The LORD is independent of His creation, and is entirely set apart from this world.

What then, does it mean when He says to consecrate ourselves, and that He is the Lord who sanctifies? What He means is this: We are to practice in our daily life the setting apart of our own selves from those things that soil our spirit. In the surrounding passages, the Lord reveals through Moses several laws and statutes that the people are to follow. These laws are all to point the people in the direction of a holy and consecrated life in service and recognition to the LORD. His command is there for the people of Israel to follow and lead virtuous lives so that, much like God, they could be holy and set apart from the wicked nations that surrounded them. They therefore, would be an example of holiness to those nations.

Today, we are called to no less. We are called to live a sanctified life in honor of our LORD, for

"you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ot of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10, NASB)"

Peter appropriately applied this passage to the believers in Rome, and it can be applied to all who call on the name of Christ. We are now a nation of priests, and it is our witness that all around see as the hands and feet of God. Therefore, Consecrate Yourselves!

The Might of our Hands

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Sometimes we decide that we can take the credit for our blessings in our lives. We get a hefty raise at work, or a new job, and immediately we claim the credit for ourselves, either through our incredible work or through our attitude or ethics. Our blessings continuously provide us with fodder to build our own straw monuments.

The Israelites had wandered through the desert for 40 years, and Moses was addressing them for one of the last times in the desert. In this address, Moses, the leader of the nation of Israel, was warning them about the dangers of pride and forgetting the blessings of God.

It is a powerful reminder for us that, even today, we still can fall prey to the same type of prideful attitude. Rather than thanking God for our bounteous table, we shower ourselves with accolades and praise. Rather than realizing that our very breath in our lungs is a gift from Almighty God, we take the credit for our success and give ourselves the pat on the back reserved for God. After all, it was God who said

"For every beast of the forest is Mine, The Cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine" Psalm 50:10-11

God does not owe us anything. We don't earn anything. God's blessings to us are His gifts of providence to us. Rather than hoisting our trophies up into the air in homage to ourselves, let us instead be grateful to an awesome God who provides in abundance for us.

Treasure in Heaven

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

If there was ever a passage where Jesus skips over entire generations, plops right down into ours, and says exactly what we need to hear today, this is it! We live in a society where possessions are our new idols, where the desires of our heart is less a pure heart, but a fat and content heart. The United States, even in such a painful economic downturn as we are in now, is the wealthiest nation in the world, probably in history. What a stark contrast to what we see around us at times, as people worldwide are suffering the ill effects of financial crisis.

Take time to consider for yourselves the meaning of "storing treasures in heaven." Consider how temporary and fleeting wealth can be here on earth, and think of how we can build our treasures in heaven. When we place our value and efforts into the heavenly rewards for this life, suddenly our earthly pleasures no longer seem so important.

That which Was Lost

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.(Luke 19:10)

I remember singing about Zaccheus when I was a child, and remember thinking how funny it was that a man would climb a tree to see Jesus. I also remember thinking how great it would be to receive Jesus into your home.

As I have grown older, I see the story more from Zaccheus' perspective now than from an eight-year-old child. I understand the thoughts in Zaccheus' head that drove him to climb a tree only to catch a glimpse at the Son of the Most High God. The feelings of need towards a savior are all too easy to understand. I should hope that if ever a time came for me on earth to be able to see my Lord face to face, and that I needed only to climb a sycamore, I would be willing to do that and more to get His attention. It is this childish love for Jesus that He wants from us, the same love that drove Zaccheus to give away his wealth to the poor for this Son of David who dined with Him. Jesus wants a devotion from us that places us in the proper perspective and frame of mind to appreciate His sacrifice for us, and allows us to open our minds to humility before the Lord.

Jesus said Himself that the healthy do not need a doctor. He says also that He came to save the lost. Part of being lost is knowing that your lost. Jesus will come to our rescue in earnest and save us if we only acknowledge that we ARE lost and need a savior.

Mighty to Save

To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,when I cry to you for help,when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.(Psalm 28:1-2)

I find David to be the most admirable when he is most like we all are from time to time, beaten, abused, and clinging to the last vestige of strength from the LORD his God. Through his beautiful poetry, the sweet Psalmist of Israel manages to capture the feelings of desperation for those who are clinging onto their LORD.

It is in the times of greatest need that the Lord will be there to carry you past that last hurdle that was so imposing only a moment before. It is when we are most unable to do that which He has called us for that He steps into the situation and helpss us through it, demonstrating that it was not us who decided to undertake the challenges in life, but rather He who decided those challenges for us, and He will pull us through to victory.

I am reminded of another instance that only serves to demonstrate our LORD's greatness to save. In Matthew 14, the disciples are in the middle of a terrible storm, and with no signs of abatement. In the fourth watch of the night, which would be anywhere from 3 to 6 in the morning, after they had been fighting the storm all night, Jesus appears to them walking upon the water. Jesus responds to the disciples' fear by saying "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." It is unfortunate that the phrasing in this passage does not thoroughly translate, but in fact, Jesus said "Do not be afraid; I AM."

Do you see the marked difference between the two? Jesus is not just there to help, He is the LORD. He is the eternal, everlasting God! And He is there for us, not just for the disciples.

Sometimes we find ourselves like David, clinging to hope where seemingly none was, praying to God only that He would save us. God is ever faithful and mighty to save, and we need only ask Him.