LORD, thank you for reminding us to always dedicate our lives for you, offer our bodies to You, as a pleasing living sacrifice, by renewing our minds. T hank you LORD for the opportunity to serve you, under the Church's bylaws revision committee, so we can help educate and teach our members, and so that we can improve the functioning of our church. LORD, give me the wisdom and strength so that I can finish the tasks assigned to me.
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Text: Romans 12:1-8 New International Version
A Living Sacrifice
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
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2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;
7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
[From ODB] A “master of disguise” lives in the waters of Indonesia and in the Great Barrier Reef. The mimic octopus, like other octopuses, can change its skin pigment to blend in with its surroundings. This intelligent creature also changes its shape, movement pattern, and behavior when threatened to mimic such creatures as the venomous lionfish and even deadly sea snakes.
Unlike the mimic octopus, believers in Jesus are meant to stand out in the world that surrounds us. We may feel threatened by those who disagree with us and become tempted to blend in so we won’t be recognized as followers of Christ. The apostle Paul, however, urges us to offer our bodies as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1), representing Jesus in every aspect of our lives.
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Friends or family members may try to pressure us to conform to the “pattern of this world” (v. 2). But we can show who we serve by aligning our lives with what we say we believe as God’s children. When we obey the Scriptures and reflect His loving character, our lives can demonstrate that the rewards of obedience are always greater than any loss. How will you mimic Jesus today? By Xochitl Dixon
[From Commentary] The Greek word translated “renewing” (Romans 12:2), anakainÅsis, is used sparsely in the New Testament. It means “a renewal, renovation, complete change for the better.” Rather than surrendering to the normal patterns of this world—“the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16)—believers in Jesus are to constantly undergo “adjustment of moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God.” How so? By the Holy Spirit’s renewal (see Titus 3:5), which “is not a fresh bestowment of the Spirit but a revival of His power, developing the Christian life” (Vine's Expository Dictionary). by Arthur Jackson
[From me] LORD, thank you for reminding us to always dedicate our lives for you, offer our bodies to You, as a pleasing sacrifice, by renewing our minds. Thank you LORD for the opportunity to serve you, under the Church's bylaws revision committee, so we can help educate and teach our members, and so that we can improve the functioning of our church. LORD, give me the wisdom and strength so that I can finish the tasks assigned to me. Posted July 26, 2023
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