Recently my Bible study group listened to a sermon on Romans 12 by John Piper. As most of Piper’s sermons do, this one left me craving to meditate some more on the scripture that he spoke on. With that said, here are a few of the lessons I learned from that time with God:
Romans 12: 1-2:”Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
1- We can willingly offer our bodies & lives as sacrifices when our view is focused on God’s mercy and not on our self-centered pride.
2- When I focus on what I want and what I can do, I don’t make sacrifices to Christ and I am not obedient to HIS will. But when I remember and meditate on God’s mercy towards me I can readily worship God with my life because I believe He is the one worthy of worship, not I.
3- My life is to be offered to God, not components of my life.
4- I am to be holy and pleasing, which I can’t do apart from Christ.
5- Two opposing options in this life:
Choice A
*Conform to the pattern of the world
*It is a pattern: a pattern of pursuing promotions, beauty & money that leads to the pattern of bankruptcy, devastation & disappointment.
*Exhibit A: I buy something I just have to have and 3 months later I hate said item and want something different. Exhibit B: the hairstyle & jeans were in 6 months ago, now they are out.
*The pattern of the world is the pursuit of empty promises.
Choice B
*To be transformed by the renewing of my mind.
*I can be changed, so can you. The change begins with the mind & the heart, not with the wallet, peer approval or life’s goals.
*The renewing of my mind occurs by being in the Word.
*If I want my mind to think about what is lovely, pure & holy than I need to meditate on what is lovely, pure & holy. This can only be found in the Word of God, not in Real Simple, Grey’s, NCIS, fashion, close friends or whatever you want to fill in the blank with.
*If I want my life to be more than disappointments and unfulfilled promises, than I must saturate my life in that which fully satisfies: Christ & His Word.
