Tag: living

September 21 – How To Obey

“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.” –  Romans 12:1 (ESV)

While the Bible places a strong emphasis on obedience, it’s critical to remember that believers are not justified by obedience. Salvation is a free gift of God, and we can do nothing to merit it. True Christian obedience however, flows from a heart of gratitude for the grace and mercy we have received from the Lord and our response is the worship of obedience. The Greek word for “I appeal” or “I urge” springs from a root which means “to call alongside to help.” In Acts 24:4 it is “beg”; in Act s 27:34 “encourage.”  Jesus used a related word, “comforter” or “helper” in reference to the Holy Spirit. Here Paul was writing as a counselor with full weight of apostleship to his readers. In light of all the spiritual riches we believers enjoy solely as the fruit of God’s grace and mercies, it follows that we owe God our highest form of service which is our act of worshiping God; an act of our spiritual service offered genuinely from our hearts. For those in Christ, our only acceptable worship is to offer ourselves completely in worship to the Lord our God.

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November 24 – Going Deeper than Deep

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (ESV )

The word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of his judgment in the Bible are sharp. They are alive and active enough to drill down to the bottom of our heart and show us that the lies of sin are indeed lies. The things we do and justify doing based on our desires and fears are not capable of reaching our need and making things right. Dishonesty and false teaching can be countered by the word of God. The promises in God’s Word is like opening the windows letting in the bright morning sunlight on the roaches of sin cloaked as satisfying pleasures in our hearts. God has given you us good news, his promises, his word to protect us from the deep deceptions of sin that try to harden your heart and lure it away from God. Take heart because the word of God is living, active and sharper than any two-edged sword. it will go deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone. It will reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting and loving.

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