Gracious God, fill the cup of this dear reader's life in the way You know best; in Christ Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Our text comes from Romans 12:1-8: 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
I can look back now and say that the move from my birth place of Kingsville, Texas, at the age of 13, to Houston, Texas, was perhaps the greatest move of my life. It opened my eyes to a new world and to new possibilities about life and purpose. I couldn't say that at the time because I was too bewildered in so many ways: The sirens on emergency vehicles was so different from the old, almost hand-cranked sirens from home to the piercing electronic ones of Houston. We lived on a downtown street that was a favorite of ambulances, at all hours of the night, on their way to the Texas Medical Center. I saw girls, or at least one of them, one day show up with green hair. Yes, bright green hair. She was the talk of the school and she was dispatched home once the administration found out about her dye selection for the day. I heard things about which I did not yet know a thing, and as I asked, the Bible verses from Sunday school began to take shape in terms of what God offered and what the world offered. Paul says in the first verses of today's passage, with God's help we should all offer ourselves, every bit and part of our lives to God as a living and holy sacrifice (offering). As the unblemished animals were presented to God in the Old Testament teachings on offerings and sacrifices, so Paul teaches, we too, should present ourselves as gifts to God. The good news is that as Paul is writing he is aware that death is no longer a part of the equation; Christ died once and for all, in our place. What should die is the way we give in to temptation and sin.
Christ's death also meant we should allow Him to help us not be like everyone else. As the people of God were called to be a nation of priests, that meant their lives should be an example to the other nations. So should we. People don't notice the ones who do and carry on like everybody else, they notice the ones who are different and in the case of Christians, the ones who know how to better live in a peaceful, pleasing way before God. And Paul says our starting point should be in our minds. What we think we often are or do. If we think Godly things,we will be and do Godly things. If we open our mind to the leading of God, God will help us in the making of difficult decisions for His honor and glory.
Lastly, we are on the same team, each looking out for the other, each seeking victory each day in this our daily life. The challenges and temptations will come, but as we encourage and look out for each other, we will be blessed in making the right decisions and living the right way. Whatever our gifts and callings, those are the things that will bless us and help us be the persons God wants us to be.
PRAYER: Loving God, may this day be a day in which I think more about You and less about me. May my thoughts be Yours and may those bless me into action that is pleasing to You and a blessing to Your people. May I pray more today for those with whom I live, work, and play, so that they are blessed in ways that bring honor and glory to You. I ask this in the Name of He who lived and died for My sake because of Your love and His love for me, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
