Tag Archives: body

How does change happen?

 

If I am going to be transformed, I have to transform certain parts of me. If I am going to fail or be defeated in my walk with God it will be because I have failed to attend to the parts of me that need attended to.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] 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

Here is a call for me to be doing something with my body. As a disciple, I am called to live a fully surrendered and transformed life to Christ.

If I remember the mercies of God, I can approach Him with a genuine thirst to follow Him. For it is when I look into the mirror, I find that the Lord of my life is usually myself.

Do not be conformed to this world,[c] 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 12:2  ESV

If I do not want to be conformed to the world, one of the main things I have to do is transform my mind. When my mind is transformed, it will transform the rest of me.

It is one of the most significant parts of spiritual growth – the renewal of the mind. It is the place where the Holy Spirit changes my thoughts and perspectives. The transformation allows me to discern the will of God and stop conforming to this world.

Whenever I ask God to search my heart and know my deepest thoughts so that I can submit my sins to Him, I find myself face to face with deception. I see myself living a self-serving life. Most of my life has to do with putting myself and my desires first. Unfortunately, a “personal relationship with Jesus” might even go so far as to redefine Jesus into my own image.

Hence, the process of mind-renewal can take a lifetime. As a disciple, I will be growing throughout my life, beginning each day learning to think with the mind of Christ. There comes the place where I can more clearly discern the will of God.

 

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A part of the body

 

I am part of the body of Christ, of which He is the head. As a follower of Jesus I get to serve and lead as an equal member with other followers of Jesus.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. – 1 Corinthians 12:28  ESV

The Holy Spirit is crucial in giving tasks and sharing gifts with individuals so they can function fully as a disciple and disciple-maker. There are so many gifts that allude to “words” given over a person in order for them to be encouraged or to receive insight into something they would not be aware of. It is a way God binds us together to form a whole.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. – 1 Corinthians 12:7-11  ESV

I love this – God has freely gifted His people. Gifts used for building up and growing the body of Christ. All of us play a unique part – in other words – we are all gifted differently. It is only when I unite myself with other followers that my giftedness, shared in love, can help reach out and disciple a lost world.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 12:4  ESV

I know that it is difficult to tell the difference between those who really are following Jesus from those who possess a deceptive spirit. Paul’s opening address on the work of the Spirit among followers of Jesus is an encouragement to me to stay vigilant and to discern the Spirit among those I come alongside.

Now concerning[a] spiritual gifts,[b] brothers,[c] I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 12:1-3  ESV

All of this continues to remind me how important it is for me to walk and to be in the presence of God on a daily basis. I want to be under His care and protection, to be in His grace, to enjoy knowing that He is watching me. It is here that I find my joy, where I stand right with Him, where I can be sincere in my service and my worship.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall dwell in your presence. – Psalm 140:13  ESV

This is why I can come to Him each morning in prayer – to seek Him and know how to walk before Him. To be a healthy part of the body of Christ.

 

 

 

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