I Corinthians 7:17-24 - Called from Every Vocation

I Corinthians 7:17-24

17 Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches. 18 Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. 20 Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.

21 Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. 22 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

Message: Called from Every Vocation

Time: Not the first, but 2nd letter to Corinthians, but the first to survive and to be considered authoritative. Written in AD 55, it was penned after Paul had reports of quarreling in this church he had previously visited. Paul covers a number of subjects, but all focus on the Christian's life in the church. 

What the Lord is Saying: It is interesting to me to understand the context of this passage. In Paul's day, the City of Corinth was the most important city in Greece, as it was a hub of worldwide commerce, but it also was a culture that was degraded and included idolatrous religion. Paul, in this book is firm as he deals with (1) divisions in the church, (2) disorder in the church, and (3) difficulties in the church. The New Testament church is young. Christ was crucified in AD 33 and so this is 22 years later, at a time when this church does not possess the Bible that I have in front of me today in its entirety. At this time, there would have only been penned Matthew, Galatians and James and yet we simply don't know how much of these letters or words were a part of the church. And so this letter Paul is writing to the Church becomes their doctrinal statement and my guess is much of how their church begins is through word of mouth. 

Chapter 7 gives the listener at the beginning principle for married life and at the end principles for the unmarried as well as remarriage. In the middle, my Open Bible has today's reading with a heading of "Principles of Abiding in God's Call." Again, I find this interesting that Paul seems to be addressing how one is to live. 

He writes to an audience that is probably Jewish and yet also Gentile. And he brings up first circumcision - an important practice of the Jew and yet he states what should be important in the life of a follower is not this practice (verse 18), but rather what is important is keeping the commandments of God (v. 19). Verse 19 seems to be the pivotal verse of this section and namely the last part -- what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. What matters is our obedience not who we are (freeman or slave, circumcised or not). Verse 23 says, you were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. We are to be a people of God. We need to be concerned about what God deems important. God has bought us, called us, made us all free (verse 22 - the Lord's freedman). 

Look at the similar thinking in Galatians 5:6, a writing by Paul that occurred at the same time. he says, For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. Circumcision is a rite or ritual, but liked I learned in the October 2017 issue of Tabletalk when I studied sacraments, this practices can be important and perhaps we can even say they are needed but I still can't say they are required. If Paul is telling us that circumcision does not mean anything in regards to freeing a man or being purchased, then it seems the purpose of the rituals or sacraments is therefore to point us towards God. And so they can be important, but we always need to be mindful that they do not in and by themselves lead to salvation nor are they on a salvation timeline or checklist that leads one to being saved or in Christ. But rather they can help us and point us toward that right relationship with God. 

I Corinthians 1:17 - For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel... This does not mean that baptism is not important. In that verse he seems to be saying to not let the issue of whether you have been baptized or not divide you. Rather be united by the gospel and who we are in Christ. 

In time I have really come to enjoy the British minister Alexander Maclaren and his writings from the 19th century. He breaks this chapter and verse down in a way that really resonates with me. Again, don't get too caught up in the ritual that you miss the relationship with Jesus. Galatians 5:6 says what is important is faith working through love. In today's passage it is keeping of the commandments of God. It is doing the will of the Father. Jesus said in Luke 22:42, Not my will, but thine be done. 

Galatians 6:15 says, For neither circumcision anything, not uncircumcision, but a new creation. What is most important is my newness in Christ. What matters is getting to that new state of John 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

And so I am back to what is key. What is the key? Faith is the key. By trusting in Christ I become a follower of Christ and become one that keeps the commandments of God. I am a new creature created in Christ Jesus for good works. And so I want to live for Him. I want to learn from Him. I want to be like Him. And yet I live in the world and am called to be in the world and yet not to be conformed to it. Every step, every day I am Christ. I am His. And as His I am to be about the will of the Father. It is automatic if I let it. If I let my mindset change, it will change. Don't make it about duty or checklists or rituals. Make it about Him and letting Him renew me. Let my mind be renewed. 

And so today, this lesson, "Called from Every Vocation", the lesson is simple. Be it freeman or slave, it does not matter. I am called to do the will of the Father. I do the will of the Father whether circumcised or uncircumcised, whether having been baptized or not baptized, taking the Lord's supper or not, married or not married, having children or not having children, rich or poor, Gentile or Jew, black or white, Baptist or not, Lutheran or not, Presbyterian or not. What matters is not me or my affiliation, but the will of the Father. It is not form or ritual, it is being in Christ so that then all things will flow forth. Wherever God has placed me, that is where I serve Him. 

Summary: Be it freeman or slave, it does not matter. I am called to do the will of the Father. 

Promise: The important thing to remember is that wherever we labor, we can labor for the glory of God and the good of our neighbors. 

Prayer: O God, thank you for waking me up this morning. I woke up bothered by last night and the work I was doing. Whatever it was that woke me up it brought me to Your Word and brought me to a lesson that has been on my mind so often and a lesson that I so badly wanted to know and see. The lesson is that You have saved me. And in saving me, you have made me knew. O God, how I want to get out of the way and instead let you Spirit live in me the will of the Father. It only happens because of Christ being in me. Awakened by the Spirit, brought to faith by Christ, so that I may do the will of the Father. Renew me daily. As I live in this world, I do not want to be conformed to it. Keep me non-conformed. Keep me trained for Godliness. Keep me close to you. Thank you for calling me at this moment in the work you have and from it I can serve you as good as anyone else. What matters is being in Christ. Thank you God. Thank you for gripping me today with these truths. If I can, help me to pass it on. 

My Utmost for His Highest - May 20th - The Realm of The Real

 In your patience possess ye your souls. - Luke 21:19

    When a man is born again, there is not the same robustness in his thinking or reasoning for a time as formerly. We have to make an expression of the new life, to form the mind of Christ (see Philippians 2:5). "Acquire your soul with patience." Many of us prefer to stay at the threshold of the Christian life instead of going on to construct a soul in accordance with the new life God has put within. We fail because we are ignorant of the way we are made, we put things down to the devil instead of our own undisciplined natures. Think what we can be when we are roused!

    There are certain things we must not pray about--moods, for instance. Moods never go by praying, moods go by kicking. A mood nearly always has its seat in the physical condition, not in the moral. It is a continual effort not to listen to the moods which arise from a physical condition, never submit to them for a second. We have to take ourselves by the scruff of the neck and shake ourselves, and we will find that we can do what we said we could not. The curse with most of us is that we won't. The Christian life is one of incarnate spiritual pluck.

- From Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest" - Classic Edition

Highlights and Underlines are courtesy of Mom from her print edition.

My thoughts

Be careful in listening to your physical moods for moods distract us from the life God intended in us. We need to form the mind of Christ. Don't blame the devil for your poor decisions.  

 

My Utmost for His Highest - November 14 - Discovering Divine Designs

I being in the way, the Lord led me.… — Genesis 24:27

We have to be so one with God that we do not continually need to ask for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God, and the natural life of a child is obedience — until he wishes to be disobedient, then instantly there is the intuitive jar. In the spiritual domain the intuitive jar is the monition of the Spirit of God. When He gives the check, we have to stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind in order to make out what God’s will is. If we are born again of the Spirit of God, it is the abortion of piety to ask God to guide us here and there. “The Lord led me,” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design, which, if we are born of God, we will credit to God.

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the culture of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never allow that the haphazard is anything less than God’s appointed order, and be ready to discover the Divine designs any where.

Beware of making a fetish of consistency to your convictions instead of being devoted to God. “I shall never do that” — in all probability you will have to, if you are a saint. There never was a more inconsistent Being on this earth than Our Lord, but He was never inconsistent to His Father. The one consistency of the saint is not to a principle, but to the Divine life. It is the Divine life which continually makes more and more discoveries about the Divine mind. It is easier to be a fanatic than a faithful soul, because there is something amazingly humbling, particularly to our religious conceit, in being loyal to God.

My Thoughts

• The mark of a mature Christian is not having to ask God to be led as obedience is natural as I become a true child of God. Children obey. 
• I need to see God's divine design in all the details of life, not only the grand ones. 

Titus 3:4-7 - The Grace of Justification

Titus 3:4-7
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Message: The Grace of Justification

Time: Paul is the self-identified writer of Titus. Paul wrote his letter to Titus from Nicopolis in AD 63, after the apostle’s release from his first Roman imprisonment. The doctrine of the incarnation in the letter to Titus grounds its message of producing right living through the careful attention to theological truth.

What the Lord is Saying:

Man's condition is fallen. The plumbline of man's condition is therefore bent on not pleasing God, but rather pleasing self. This is the norm of man. Man may try in his lifetime to better himself in all manners of ways but in the end he remains a sinner. That God chooses us to be redeemed or set free from this fallen condition is something God does for His reason not because of some special way He sees in us. God is the potter and we are lumps of clay and He forms us out of his desire, not because he sees something unique in the clay. Others he does not call and instead leaves them to pursue the life they lead that is not pleasing to God. Their hearts are hardened towards God, separated, against God. God gives His called ones the gifts of faith and repentance. Since all of this is God's doing, when He makes us free it is as if our position in heaven is a done deal. He seats us in the heavenly places not in the future, but as of today. So, this redemption does not come and go. It cannot be lost.

It cannot be overstated that faith plus anything is not grace. In Paul's letters to the Galatians he spends that entire book confronting the doctrine that is misleading many people and that is that man shares in the making of oneself brand new, that our good deeds yield this salvation, along with Jesus dying on the cross. But this is impossible. Once again, the fallen condition of man is incapable of becoming the righteousness of God.

Titus 3:7 says being justified by His grace meaning justification is entirely grace. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy. 

Paul to Titus takes a moment to explain what this looks like in the life of a believer. He says is seen through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. The Greek word here for washing is laver. A laver is a basin or a pan for cooking; it is the sacred wash-bowl of the temple and tabernacle. It contained water wherewith the priests washed their hands and feet when they entered the tabernacle. In the temple there were ten lavers used for the sacrifices. In the Greek this passage is rendered the laver of regeneration. Thus, baptism shows to us, to all, the change that has taken place. The person is made clean. Our strength to be look more and more like Christ each day comes about through the renewing by the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:16 says - Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

I do not think in my life I properly give credit to the Holy Spirit for being the one that renews my life every day. But, the believer has the Holy Spirit renewing their life day by day. New things have come. The change in a believer's life is evident because of the work of the Holy Spirit in that person's life.

And following this rebirth, the regeneration, this saving by grace is the hope that we will spend eternity with God. being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. His grace means permits us to hope that we shall live with him forever. An heir does not earn eternal life. An heir receives because of the choosing of the one that is in charge. Paul once again, asserts through talking of eternal life that it is not of our own doing. It is entirely of God. We are made heirs.

Promise: This word of God is so beautiful for it asserts over and over that our salvation is by grace. It is seen through baptism, the outward sign of our regeneration and then the Holy Spirit renews us day by day. And our future hope is secured because God has made us heirs not owners but heirs of eternal life. We completely honor the Lord Jesus Christ in upholding justification by grace alone.

Prayer: O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art. I declare that God is great, not man. I am saved by your grace. I am made new not because of me, but because of You. Day by day you are renewing me Holy Spirit. Thank you for the promise that I too am a heir of eternal life. God you are so good, even calling you good sounds trite but it is the best my words can come up with. How great you are God. How Great You Are.


Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about salvation by grace alone. March was about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January is about the doctrine of God.

Mark 12:28-31 - The Greatest Commandments

Mark 12:28-31
28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”


Message: The Greatest Commandments

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Preface - Jesus has answered his critics questions. Most recently the question was about the resurrection and what it would like to us upon resurrection in the way of marriage. We will not be married. We will have everything that we need in Christ. For God is the God of the living not the dead. His ways are always the same. He is the God of the now, not simply then. He says, "I AM" not "I was." Jesus is in Jerusalem on his way to die and then be resurrected as he has predicted 3 times.

One of the scribes came and heard them arguing - I believe they were discussing, not necessarily arguing. This one scribe comes to Jesus with a reasonable question. This scribe recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him. So this scribe is different from the others, accepting the words of Jesus. When Jesus answers the scribes question What commandment is the foremost of all? his response is actually not real different from anything he has said previously. In fact, when He and the disciples walked back into Jerusalem and Peter saw the fig tree and that it was withered Jesus responds with a two-fold response of Have Faith in God or believe me, believe me what I say and then soon after tells them to forgive their neighbors. The message is a little different but the focus is on God, then neighbor.

This is what Jesus mentions again now in the 2 greatest commandments - Love God, Love Neighbor. That is easily the central message of our lives that really stands in contrast with any other message of this day from any religious body or group: Love God, Love Neighbor. Have Faith in God and Forgive. This is what needs to motivate my life each day. This is it.

I love that message. HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. It is interesting here. RC Sproul comments that we love God in 4 ways - with our heart, with our soul, with our mind, with our strength.

The second commandment is somehow simpler. There is a contrast in the type of love we have for God and the type of love we have for neighbor. It is a given that we love ourselves. We don't simply love our neighbor, but we do it AS YOURSELF. This is very true. We love ourselves. And this love gets greater when we realize who we are in Christ and that God loves us so much.

I was listening to a message yesterday from Tom Nelson of Denton Bible Church, an older message maybe from 10 years ago he did in Matthew and it reminded me of how rules based we are in our lives and how heart-based God is. God is most concerned about our hearts. And this message of loving God and loving neighbors begins in the heart. It can't simply be a rule will follow. But rather it is a condition of our heart. I often struggle to understand or communicate to people what living for Jesus is really about and somehow I think it is this notion that God wants to change our heart, not just change how we do a few things in our lives.

Sometimes i have difficult figuring out what sin I have broken. I get to this point at times where I don't think I've done anything bad but at its core I don't really love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And I definitely don't love my neighbor as I do myself. What I want is often what is most important.

Summary - Jesus responds to the question from one of the scribes, a scribe that believed Jesus had responded well to the the Sadducees question. He asks for the greatest commandment and Jesus gives two commandments, thus though there are 2 they are together. We cannot truly love God without loving our neighbor and we cannot truly love our neighbor without loving God.

Promise: Love for God on account of who He is in Himself is the highest form of love that creatures can show. It is love God with all of the power that we can muster; with our mind it is studying His ways and His character as revealed in His Word; with our soul it is means loving Him passionately; with our heart it means loving God from the very root of our being.

Prayer: Lord, first of all, forgive me God for the way in which I have loved you. Each day I seek out first ways to please myself or love myself rather than loving You. Yesterday was church and I find that church is only good if it pleases me, but you remind me that it is about loving You with all that is in my being. So forgive me for thinking that I know better. I want to be in that place to Love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I admit I don't know what that looks like much of the time. Help me to know how to communicate this with others. And I want to love others the way I love myself. It's easy to have this love for my wife, but sometimes not as easy with even my kids and then those that I would call neighbors. I should be sacrificing more of myself for them. You are Savior and Lord. You are king. You are Lord of All. I want to praise You.

Mark 2:23-26 - Picking Grain on the Sabbath

Mark 2:23-26
23 And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?”
Message: Picking Grain on the Sabbath

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Recently, the readings from Mark have been it seems to prove a point, basically that Jesus comes with a new message and this message is different from the ritual thinking of the past, so choose Christ. As these occur, Mark is often offering questions from the Pharisees or scribes as they tend to be the holders of all things that are traditional in thought in these cities. Today is no different. The issue today is doing work on the Sabbath.

In my lifetime, having grown up in the 70s, I've seen the Sabbath day change. Granted, for the Jew Sabbath is sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, but for me Sabbath has always been Sunday, the day of church. I remember shopping centers and most stores being closed on Sunday but then in the 80s and beyond they began to open and now in the last 20 years church has become much more optional in people's lives which means that Sunday is just another day for many.

But this is a different issue i think. I am talking about a day of rest and Jesus is here pointing out not so much an issue of working on the Sabbath day but I think he is talking more about doing some different from the traditions that have been set up that mark religious piety. Thus, it is a continued conversation about that issue talked about prior in regards to providing forgiveness of sins, not simply healing, and the issue of fasting all the time, versus specific times and for the disciples maybe its not even needed since Jesus is present in their lives and then also the issue of wine skins to express that Jesus once again is doing a new thing. And this Jesus thing even transcends the thinking that one can't work on the Sabbath. I'm not sure if the message is that there is freedom in Christ, though there is obviously. And I'm not sure the focus is that one can't do any work on the Sabbath. To me, it is more of an issue that Jesus and his message transcends all of life and as Paul will mention often in Romans as he speaks to circumcision and caretakers of the law, while Jesus isn't saying those things aren't important, but he is saying that Jesus has brought a new message and salvation is through personal acknowledgment of sin, repentance and believing and following God's Messiah - Jesus. So its not so much what we do but who we are following. And as we get our focus off of works or rituals or duty and instead onto Jesus there is grace. We still need to have a sabbath. We still need to fast from our idols. We still need to drink from our wine skins, but we also need to evaluate life and figure out if we are doing things in order to earn God's acceptance by doing those things or if we are really following Jesus and letting him define our world.

Even my reading of the scripture daily, it can become an idol or something that I feel like I must do. In a way it is, but my real aim is staying focused on learning from Jesus each day and the benefit of living my life in learning of Him. My goal is obedience and following him all my days. So it doesn't then give me the freedom to just sit and watch TV, or go to movies, or view whatever I want from my phone, or work instead of ministry or not attend church or avoid the Lord's Supper or working every day and never resting. Those things are still important in my life but I do them not to earn piety or favoritism from God, but more out of worship. Sometimes I will be faithful, sometimes I may miss the boat, but through it all Jesus acceptance and love for me does not change. So, I can pick grain on the Sabbath, though I may end up spending most of my life not picking grain. But, I can do it and it won't affect my salvation because I already believe.

Promise: I need to focus on Jesus in my everyday life and following him, not simply thinking that following rules or tradition merits God's acceptance. It is Jesus everyday.

Prayer: Lord, keep changing my thinking and conforming it to the message of the gospel. Thank you for reminding me that life is about following you and being in relationship with you. You transcend all of life. Practicing my faith is important, but not if it because a checklist item that I must meet to be spiritual. Instead, help me to be pure in my motives so that practicing my faith becomes something I must do to follow you. Let it be worship. It is worship to spend time with you each day. It is worship to attend church and be in fellowship. Thank you Lord for reminding me of how you transcend life.

Psalm 51:10-19 - David's Plea for a Clean Heart

Psalm 51:10-19

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
¹⁶ For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸ By Your favor do good to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Message: David's Plea for a Clean Heart

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

This chapter continues to sound off the sinner's prayer for forgiveness and cleansing. And yet, it seems to be a prayer from a saved person, seeking to turn from his sinful ways. He is saved, but sin continues to take place in his life.

God, create in me a clean heart...and bring me back to where I was before, with a consistent, non-stop mind focused on You...do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Bring back the joy of my salvation and sustain me with a mind that is turning towards you. With me, in your Presence, transgressors will come to know your ways and sinners will be converted for I won't be a stumbling block to them and I can encourage them. Deliver me O God from the guilt i have over my sin...you are my God, my salvation; may my tongue sing of your righteousness. Open my lips Lord. My mouth is to declare your praise. You desire a changed heart, not simply right religious duty like a sacrifice or offering. Change me from the inside-out. Do good God to the people of God. Be our fortress. With a heart directed to you, then sacrifices made to you will take on their full meaning.

Spirit
There were a few verses in this passage that really stood out to me. In verse 10, create in me a clean heart is an easy to understand outcry, but the 2nd phrase, and renew a steadfast spirit within me doesn't ring out as clear. Spirit conveys the idea of the bent and bias of the mind; the vigour and activity of it. The word here would naturally convey the idea that there had been formerly a right and proper spirit in him, which he prayed might now be restored. The language is that of one who had done right formerly, but who had fallen into sin, and who desired that he might be brought back into his former condition.

Verse 12 talks about bringing back the joy of my salvation which continues the idea from verse 10 that my life would return to the salvation experience I had. Take me back God to that joy.

Inner Change
The other verse that stood out to me, with a little confusion was verse 16 -  For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. Mere outward sacrifices - in bloody offerings themselves, unaccompanied with the expression of genuine penitence, God could have no pleasure. This is one of the numerous passages in the Old Testament which show that the external offerings of the law were valueless unless accompanied by the religion of the heart.

This is the change that is needed, an inward change, not simply what is seen on the outside. 

Promise: Having changed me from the inside out, bring opportunities in my life to share of you with others.

Jesus Calling: January 1

Come to Me with a teachable spirit, eager to be changed. A close walk with Me is a life of continual newness. Do not cling to old ways as you step into a new year. Instead, seek My Face with an open mind, knowing that your journey with Me involves being transformed by the renewing of your mind. As you focus your thoughts on Me, be aware that I am fully attentive to you. I see you with a steady eye, because My attention span is infinite. I know and understand you completely; My thoughts embrace you in everlasting Love. I also know the plans I have for you: plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Give yourself fully to this adventure of increasing attentiveness to My Presence. 

Romans 12:2
English Standard Version
Do not be conformed to this world, 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.
 
Jeremiah 29:11
English Standard Version
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

My Prayer
I come to You Lord, ready to change. I want to sing a new song to You. Thank you for a new day and that Your mercies are new every morning. I am ready to be renewed, so if you want to remove things from my life that I am holding onto, then I am ready. I will trust you, for you know what is best for me. This doesn't mean this year will be absent of trials, disappointments, heartaches, and difficulties, that is not what I am praying, but instead I want it to be lived in Your Presence, submitting and surrendering to You and accepting what You provide. 

1/1/19
O God, my King, the great and awesome Lord, You are great. I am reminded Lord that you are most concerned about my future. You know what I need and You will use everything in my life for good. Help me daily to remember this future as too often I get overly obsessed with today and what is happening. 

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Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Jesus Calling: December 25

As you wait attentively in My Presence, the Light of the knowledge of My Glory shines upon you. This radiant knowledge transcends all understanding. It transforms every fiber of your being: renewing your mind, cleansing your heart, invigorating your body. Open yourself fully to My Presence, be awed by My glorious Being.
     Try to imagine what I gave up when I came into your world as a baby, I set aside My Glory, so that I could identify with mankind. I accepted the limitations of infancy under the most appalling conditions--a filthy stable.That was a dark night for Me, even though angels lit up the sky proclaiming "Glory!" to awe-struck shepherds.
     When you sit quietly with Me, the process I went through is reversed in your experience. As you identify with Me, heaven's vistas open up before you--granting you glimpses of My Glory. I became poor so that you might become rich. Sing hallelujahs to My Holy Name!

2 Corinthians 4:6
English Standard Version
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
 
Philippians 2:6-7
English Standard Version
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
 
Luke 2:13-14
English Standard Version
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

2 Corinthians 8:9
English Standard Version
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

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Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Jesus Calling: November 30

Problems are part of life. They are inescapable: woven in to the very fabric of this fallen world. You tend to go into problem-solving mode all too readily, acting as if you have the capacity to fix everything. This is a habitual response, so automatic that it bypasses your conscious thinking. Not only does this habit frustrate you, it also distances you from Me.
     Do not let fixing things be your top priority. You are ever so limited in your capacity to correct all that is wrong in the world around you. Don't weigh yourself down with responsibilities that are not your own. Instead, make your relationship with Me your primary concern. Talk with Me about whatever is on your mind, seeking My perspective that comes to your attention, ask Me to show you what is truly important. Remember that you are en route  to heaven, and let your problems fade in the Light of eternity. 

Psalm 32:8
English Standard Version
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Luke 10:41-42
English Standard Version
⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
 
Philippians 3:20-21
English Standard Version
²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

My Prayer
Help me to understand Lord that eternity is in my heart and I don't need to look at every problem like their is a solution I must solve. May I be more focused on our relationship and less focused on solving problems. As your word says, you will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go. My citizenship is in heaven. My belonging is with You. Again, keep me eternity minded and not of this world. 

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Jesus Calling: November 1

Do not be discouraged by the difficulty of keeping your focus on Me. I know that your heart's desire is to be aware of My Presence continually. This is a lofty goal; you aim toward it but never fully achieve it in this life. Don't let feelings of failure weigh you down. Instead, try to see yourself as I see you. First of all, I am delighted by your deep desire to walk closely with Me through your life. I am pleased each time you initiate communication with Me. In addition, I notice the progress you have made since you first resolved to live in My Presence.
     When you realize that your mind has wandered away from Me, don't be alarmed or surprised. You live in a world that has been rigged to distract you. Each time you plow your way through the massive distractions to communicate with Me, you achieve a victory. Rejoice in these tiny triumphs, and they will increasingly light up your days. 

Romans 8:33-34
English Standard Version
³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Hebrews 4:14-16
English Standard Version
¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

My Prayer
Father, the world trains me to not focus on You. How I need your love forever. Help me to begin each day with you, so my perspective for the day begins on You. And then throughout the day help me to surrender to you and make wise choices.  

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.


Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Psalm 78:21-39 - ingratitude and Hypocrisy

Psalm 78:21-39
²² Therefore the Lord heard and was full of wrath; and a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also mounted against Israel, ²² because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation.
²³ Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven; ²⁴ He rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them food from heaven. ²⁵ Man did eat the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance. ²⁶ He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens and by His power He directed the south wind. ²⁷ When He rained meat upon them like the dust, even winged fowl like the sand of the seas, ²⁸ then He let them fall in the midst of their camp, round about their dwellings.
²⁹ So they ate and were well filled, and their desire He gave to them. ³⁰ Before they had satisfied their desire, while their food was in their mouths, ³¹ the anger of God rose against them and killed some of their stoutest ones, and subdued the choice men of Israel.
³² In spite of all this they still sinned and did not believe in His wonderful works. ³³ So He brought their days to an end in futility and their years in sudden terror. ³⁴ When He killed them, then they sought Him, and returned and searched diligently for God;³⁵ and they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. 
³⁶ But they deceived Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their tongue.³⁷ For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant. 
³⁸ But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; and often He restrained His anger and did not arouse all His wrath.³⁹ Thus He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not return.

Message: Ingratitude and Hypocrisy

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

I read this passage and I immediately think of the Sunday's following September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center towers came down following terrorist attacks. Verse 34 of Psalm 78 says, "When He killed them, they sought him." When people died on that day people ran to church in weeks following, seeking the Lord. They remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. But nothing had really changed in their lives. Their mouth said one thing, their heart something else. In verses 36 and 37, But they deceived Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant. 

God is continually trying to get our attention. He is a merciful God. He is compassionate and really does desire the best for His children. It is true that some live hard lives, but our response to God in these hard situations is to continue to love Him and Honor Him, not turn ourselves from him. We have a God that loves us. But, we are too short sighted. We are impatient. We look around and see what others have and shake our fist at God because we do not have the same. 
 
This passage speaks of God's great love for us. We quickly forget that he has our best in mind. I forget this. I want to do things my way and I get impatient and don't want to wait on God for his answer, but I would rather craft out my own response and outcome. Lord, help me trust you no matter what. I don't want to be wind like you mention in verse 39 that blows and does not remember where it has come from. Thank you for forgiving me of my sins and thank you for destroying me, but keeping me alive, and always alive in Christ. Lord, if you need to teach me through life events to follow you and you alone, then I need to learn and I want to accept your ways as the best way. I praise you.

Promise: I need to frequently examine myself to make sure I am seeking the Lord and following His truth.

Jesus Calling: April 21

     Let Me control your mind. The mind is the most restless, unruly part of mankind. Long after you have learned the discipline of holding your tongue, your thoughts defy your will and set themselves up against Me. Man is the pinnacle of My creation, and the human mind is wondrously complex. I risked all by granting you freedom to think for yourself. This is god-like privilege, forever setting you apart from animals and robots. I made you in my image, precariously close to deity.
     Though My blood has fully redeemed you, your mind is the last bastion of rebellion. Open yourself to My radiant Presence, letting My Light permeate your thinking. When My Spirit is controlling your mind, you are filled with Life and Peace.

Genesis 1:26-27
English Standard Version
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

Romans 8:6

English Standard Version
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Verse Thoughts - When we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God comes to live inside of us. However, we are not yet with God in paradise, instead we still have our mortal body's, living on this earth and our flesh continues to seek to only satisfy itself. The natural conclusion of living a life set on the flesh is death. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. This is the deception of the flesh. The flesh thinks it is alive. The flesh thinks it is about life, but in reality there is no peace in that life. There is living and going through the motions and not really thinking beyond the grave or in the afterlife or in outcomes. The mind set on the flesh is death. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. The Spirit is there to take us through life, not help us or assist us, but take us through life.

My Prayer (2018) - Lord, I am exhausted as my mind dwells, stares, compares, competes, is in fear, is restless, is discouraged by what I see, goes from worry to worry to worry. Bring back the joy of my salvation. Your Spirit lives inside of me. Jesus, you told me that believing in You means that I can do even greater things than what you did. Forgive me God for getting my mind off of this track and instead staring at my world around me. Instead, I want to set my mind on the Spirit. I want to resolve to be conformed to the image of Your Son. Holy Spirit, I give you my mind. Take Control.


Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Romans 12:3-5 - The Sober Judgment of the Members

Romans 12:3-5 - ³ For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. ⁴ For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Message: Our response to being transformed: A sound mind

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Don't think more highly of oneself
Because of grace, and because I have a renewed mind, I am to realize that my condition in Christ is not due to my own special doing. Grace is a gift. Ephesians 2:8 says, "it is by grace you have been saved." Now here in Romans 12:3 is a similar message, "for through the grace given to me." Therefore, I need to be very careful not to think of myself, and my position in Christ, as something that I have earned or even deserve. Paul previously spoke out against the Jewish people. Paul spoke against the Jews declaration that it was their heritage or their lineage or their circumcision or their handling of the Scriptures, that then gave them some sort of special exemption before God. That because of these things anything God prescribed they did not necessarily have to adhere to. Yes, they were God's chosen people but this did not mean that they did not have to submit and surrender to Him. 

This is a very difficult practice in life. I think it is very difficult for the Christian to see himself as higher than others either in the faith or out of the faith. As Christians, we are called to live in the world and yet not be of the world. The world sees this and sees how we separate ourselves from the world and therefore, they think we are making ourselves out to be better than anything in the world. 

I think this is such a hard line to draw. Take the issue of homosexuality. The Christian, evangelical church has clearly put forth that homosexuality is a sin. Much has been made of this because the focus of homosexual activists is to conform people to the view that homosexuality is not only okay, but people are born like this. And therefore, any message that is contrary to this is viewed as narrow. And then when the Christian states disagreement in this, they are said to be judging these people. And there is also the feeling that the Christian sees there way as superior. And then suddenly the Christian looks at themselves as more highly positioned than those that don't agree with their ways. 

With the issue of homosexuality there are huge problems on both sides of the fence.  

I was speaking to my atheist friend recently and thought that my focus and position before him should be expressed that I don't believe I am any better than him. I need to believe and think that I don't think of myself as being any better than him. Sure, I might think I am better off for eternity, but I can't for a moment let it seep in that I think I am more of a person than he is.  

A measure of faith
Now this is interesting because I wonder if we do think that faith is something we bring to the table with God. That I am saved by my faith through the grace of God. And therefore, God is somehow waiting for me to have faith in him. I think that is an application of this verse. God has allotted to each a measure of faith. He provides us with the faith that we need. He allows the temptation, but also provides the way out. He is the hand of providence in our life. In no way does he only have a certain amount of faith and I get one piece, but rather faith is allotted or given to me. 

But, also faith has been given, now what will I do with it? And what stands out about me is the influence of faith on my minds. I am so quick to judge myself by the tangible things I have. I often thing, "Wow, I am glad God has placed me here rather than there." Is that because I feel blessed here and I wouldn't feel blessed if he had placed me in a hut in Africa with no running water, toilet, or refrigerator? Therefore, is my faith really in God or is it more in the creature comforts that I find all around me. Do I really have a faith in things? 

So faith has been measured to me, but what have I done with it? How is that I really live by faith? 

Members of the Body of Christ
Paul takes this message of being no better than anyone else and presents the Body of Christ. And i should see that what he is saying is no one person in the Body is better or more of a significant part than another member. I believe I have sometimes placed certain people like a lead pastor or elder above others in the church, but the body, whether it be a nursery worker, a person maintaining the church, a greeter, a teacher, all carry some level within the Body of Christ.  In addition, "we are members one of another" and so there is a connection between all of us and what we are doing in the Body. 

Sometimes I think the church really struggles with this as it differentiates between the work of paid staff and non-paid staff. Paid staff becomes the leaders that direct the flock and the non-paid staff become the support. There is just a danger in having ourselves look no different from the world where the ones getting made are making the decisions for the ones not getting paid. 

As in many areas of scripture, we need to "be careful." We must be careful in how we apply this scripture, making sure the application is not just a mirror of the application in our worldly professions. 

Promise: There are no disctinctions when it comes to our signifcance in the church and before God (Galatians 3:27-29) - Tabletalk, September 10, 2014
 

Romans 12:2 - Renewing Your Mind

Romans 12:2 - And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Message: We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.

What the Lord is Saying:  

In light of the salvation that we have received, by the mercy of God and the grace of God, through faith, we are to daily present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice, in ways that are acceptable to God. This is our spiritual service of worship to God. We surrender to God and submit to His will and live out His commandments with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  

Do not be conformed
This is the hallmark of the Christian's life and really what God expects of every person, that they are not to be conformed to anything beyond Christ and His word and His commandments. 

Give me Jesus 
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have the world
But Give me Jesus

This should be our daily heart cry. This should be what our heart sings every day. 

Exodus 23:2 - You shall not follow a multitude in doing evil. 
Deuteronomy 18:9 - When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

To this world
More specifically, we are not to be conformed to this world. When Jesus was tempted, it was the devil that brought him to a mountain top to show him the kingdoms of the world. Matthew 4:8, "Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;" The devil offered to Jesus the authority of the world as a gift from him (Luke 4:6).  And in 2 Corinthians 4:4 it says, "in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

It is clear that the devil is the god of this world. I am just not sure this is apparent enough in our thinking. I am not sure we really realize the significance of this in our everyday life. I think Satan is so good at making the Christian think that a couple of visits to the church weekly are enough for us. And he is so good at making us think that a quick prayer of repentance, one time, is all we need to be secure in God's kingdom. And then this allows us to continue to roam around in the world as we desire, continually sampling from the things of this world.  And that's just with Christians. But, it almost seems like Christians are who he is luring the most. I don't believe Satan can possess a Christian. But, I definitely think the Christan can be lured away. I only say this because of what I see in my own life. 

I think of stalwarts of the faith like Martin Luther, George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon and think about the volumes that wrote or the volumes they did and then  These men did so much for the faith. They wrote so much and preached so much and yet, they lacked all of the creature comforts we have of this day. They didn't have computers, but very primitive communication. Everything took more time and yet how did they do so much? It is just amazing. Whitefield died at age 55. Spurgeon died at 57. Luther was 62. Those aren't long lives. And yet they were so productive. I just marvel at the distractions we have in this world.

I am reading the book Gospel right now by JD Greear and it really speaks of the importance of the Gospel message in our everyday life. It is not natural for us to live a life of faith-righteousness, but rather works-righteousness is natural. And so it is so important that daily we go to the Gospel and find our security in the gospel. 

I understand this message; this sentiment; this belief, but, I don't live it consistently because I am so trained in the things of the world continually that I just don't know how to really separate myself from its ways. Technology in the form of electronics has really created a distraction in our lives. This really started with the visual box--television--that came upon us in the fifties. I think the moment our eyes had something to look at, we would be hard pressed to get ourselves trained away from anything else. The TV replaced the radio which replaced the book. The book and TV remain supplemented by the radio. Then the computer came to really augment the TV as well as now the mobile phone. And if that wasn't enough, we had to make the computer more portable with the tablet (iPad). TV and Radio started out being nightly sources of entertainment, but then moved to all day. In the 80s cable TV came on board and suddenly we had multiple channels and 24 hour news and sports. Shows were originally on broadcast TV only, then it moved to another channel and now it is on pay only channels as well as streaming services like Amazon. And if TV watching wasn't enough, we brought video games through the TV, the computer, the tablet, the phone. We have so many different ways and forms of entertainment seeping through out life. And we brand it all as okay and good.

It is just such a huge part of our life and it seems to be getting larger and larger. Recently, as a household we dropped our cable bill, to help save $50 per month, and went with the antennae. I think there were some adjustments to our viewing habits, but I have noticed something interesting. For the most part, we are just changing what we are looking at, which means we are changing what is acceptable. Yes, we have less choices, but we are still viewing at the same level as we were before. In fact, I am actually viewing more because recently an old movie channel was added to the antennae lineup and I have access to old movies in ways I haven't in the past. However, I continue to be concerned about what my children are accessing as we do have Netflix and Netflix streaming is available and the content on there is actually not that great, as far as clean entertainment. 

Last night, sitting down, not feeling very well, and just wanting to rest, I wanted to watch a movie. One of the services we have now is FeelN, a streaming service backed by Hallmark providing family friendly content. They don't have a huge catalog, but I have noticed I am never disappointed with anything I watch. And yet because I have the option of Amazon Prime and Netflix, I sometimes revert to searching for entertainment through those sources. My concern is whether or not I end up choosing media that really is filled with content that would never be viewed in a church setting. Just like cable TV, once we have availability, does it possibly open us up to content that we justify in our viewing by saying, it is not that bad? Should that be the calling card for determining if we watch something? Whether it is not that bad? 

To not be conformed to the world, I think, should mean that even our viewing habits are not likened to the world's viewing habits. 

Now, back to the message, which is "Do not be conformed to the world." Those words are almost hard to read and think about and mediate on. Why? Because I love the things of the world. It is what I've known and where I've been trained. And it is becoming more and more a dominant force in our life. And to think, Paul saw this temptation back in his day. It is so hard to imagine the extent of what Paul saw in the 1st century. And yet, I believe, that this calls to evidence more that God did inspire the writing of his text because God stood outside of time and saw the importance of this message throughout time. Maybe it seems more applicable today, twenty centuries later, but there have always been distractions. The gospel message and sharing that with others was needed and prominent even in Paul's day. The first chapter of Romans speaks of the encouragement Paul gained from the church at Rome because they were sharing the faith.

But be transformed
I know I am taking this passage slow and probably spending way too much time on it, but it is actually an amazing passage of contrast from my normal life. Its message is really foundational and revolutionary to our lives. Here with this word, "but be" means that when one is not conformed to this world, there is an alternative. There is another way. There is another way we are to be training ourselves daily (I Timothy 4:7-8). 

The word transformed is in the passive voice. Active voice would mean that I am needing to do something in order to accomplish the transformation. But, here the word is passive, so an outside force is making its mark on me, transforming me. "Do not be conformed" is active, "but be transformed" is passive. The Spirit will transform us. 

This is in the imperative mood which means I have responsibility. What I need to do is turn from sin and then make myself available or able to be molded. I do have a responsibility and that is to avail myself to the work of the Spirit in me. I think this is a very important step and part of the process. We have a responsibility daily in our lives. We can't just live our lives the way we see fit because as we do we will be conformed to this world. We must stop and present ourselves as a sacrifice to Him. "Lord, Here I am." "Lord, I come to You." "Lord, I surrender to You." "Lord, I present myself to You." "Lord, I want You in me."

In addition, transformed in in the present tense, so it is not a past event, but an ongoing event in our lives. Each day, I am to present myself to the Lord and each day He will make a change in me. 

By the renewing of your mind
This is the result of surrendering to the Lord and being transformed, my mind is renewed. I become something different than what I was in the past. 

This newness and this difference is not simply a condition that is then on par with what I was in the past, before being in Christ. It is superior.  


My mind is what determines my action, my decisions, my choices, my living life. The mind needs to be renewed. The mind can be molded. That is incredible. We often are baffled by the evil that is present in people's lives, in the world. We are baffled as to how people think. That someone could work in adult films or be a stripper day in and day out. That someone could have a business of sex trafficking. That someone could be in the business of selling drugs. That someone could be in the business of gambling. And this verse throws a bright light on us and reminds us that our mind is to be renewed, so if it isn't renewed, it is trained by the one that is over this world. We are not to be conformed to this world and yet for those not in Christ, conforming to the world is natural and encouraged. 

I read yesterday from JD Greear's book, Gospel, "The tragedy is that if you are spiritually blind you have no idea that you are missing anything at all." What a compelling and truthful statement. When the mind is not renewed and we are blind at seeing the things of the Gospel, Truth, God, we are living a life that we think is right. I dare to say that the majority of the people in the world seem to be living in this blind darkness. 


so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect
So, here is the sequence. The Christian does not conform to the world but is transformed, by surrendering to the Lord, and the Spirit transforms us. This renews our mind. For what purpose? Because this is the will of God. We are daily transformed. God is transforming us to prove God's will. His will is good and acceptable and perfect. And our lives are to be a perfect reflection of who He is.

This is the crowning verse of the Christian. We are God's representation on this earth and our lives are meant to reflect who He is. Our lives should resemble Him.

Recently, I have been encouraged by something. I've always wanted to stand out and several people lately have actually told me that my walk with God is something that they admire. I don't believe they are elevating me, but I do think that they see God in me. My life does reflect Him. And He gets the praise for that, not me.

Promise: Trust in the Lord and He will make your paths straight.

Romans 8:9 - The Indwelling Spirit of God

Romans 8:9 - However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Message: The Indwelling of the Spirit of God in Me

Time: This book was probably written between 56 and 57 B.C. Paul was in Greece, probably Corinth when he wrote. It was sent to Gentile believers, but also believers with a strong Jewish element.

What the Lord is Saying:

Review
The end of chapter 7 seemed to show a contrast being the Law and the Mind. That, as new creatures in Christ, we want to fulfill the Law, but we still have sinful tendencies. Chapter 8 seems to be contrasting a life lived in the flesh versus a life lived according to the Spirit.

If the Spirit Dwells in You.
Obviously, one of the more contentious applications in the Scripture is whether the Spirit of God is immediately a part of the believers life upon believing in Christ for our salvation or if there is some separate act whereby the influence of the Spirit comes into our life. That there is some type of indwelling that must take place.

Up to this point, there has been nothing about Paul's words to make it sound like there is some separate act. Romans 8:2 mentions "the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." Romans 7:6 states that I have been released from the Law and serve in the Spirit. It is the Spirit that produces righteous living in my life. In reading chapter 7, verses 14-25 it speaks of this conflict between two natures. Verse 14, "The Law is spiritual, I am of flesh." When I don't do what I want, sin dwells in me (verse 20). So, even in the life of the Christian, there can be an indwelling of sin. And it culminates in verse 25 by reminding me that I am new in Christ. And because of being new I have a new mind. And I can serve the Law of God. But, I still have sinful tendencies.

So, what do I learn from chapter 7. I learn that I was made to die to the Law. I was made to be released from the requirements of the Law. I was made to be joined to Christ. And when I am joined, I might bear fruit for God. I don't like that word "might" because might is not definite but infers an option. The King James Version uses the word "should" which doesn't take on that much of a different meaning. I am to bring forth fruit and I can't bring forth fruit when I entwined with the doing the Law. Verse 6 seems to be clear that I have been released from the requirement of the Law, namely that I have been released from the Law being the judge and jury in my life. And now, I am to walk in newness of the Spirit. The rest of chapter 7 shows me two things: The importance of the Law to show me I'm a sinner and therefore, show me the need for a Savior. And also that in the life of a Christian there are two natures. Again, have I done anything to answer the question of whether or not the Spirit dwelling in me is automatic or a separate act? I don't think so. Not in chapter 7.

What happened in the previous chapter? Chapter 6 showed me that in Christ I am freed from sin (verse 7). In Christ my old self or ways have been crucified. But in 6:4 I see something familiar in the wording, "That i might walk in newness of life." So might could also mean a choice. I have a choice as to how I will walk. Consider myself dead to sin (verse 11). I have a choice as to how I live. Even though God sees me as dead to sin (verse 10, 11). God wants me to see myself the same way he sees me.

So, don't give sin the light of day (verse 12). Don't choose sin. In Chapter 6, the Spirit is not mentioned. The Flesh is mentioned one time to remind us that we are weak in the flesh (verse 19). People of grace are not to let sin be master over them for grace is contrary to sin. Obedience to the Law results in sin. But, people of grace are different.

But, I go back to my question, is there something separate about having a spirit dwell in me? Is there some separate act or is the indwelling of the spirit automatic? I don't know. I still don't see an answer to this in chapter 6 and 7. Again, Romans 8 speaks of living in the flesh versus living in the Spirit. A person is new in Christ but that doesn't mean a person lives in the Spirit. That's what I'm wondering.

In Chapter 5, I do have peace with God (verse 1). But, justification is definitely different from sanctification.

No Spirit, then you are not in Him
The end of verse 9 is therefore the part that confused me more, maybe. It says, "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." Clearly, I belong to Him. That has been established in the previous chapters upon my belief in Christ at the end of chapter 3. So, I do belong to Him. So, therefore, I have the Spirit of Christ. But, is having the spirit of Christ different from the indwelling of the Spirit. And if so, how does one, have this indwelling? Clearly, this is something I want so that I am not living in the flesh. The flesh cannot please God. So, I don't want the flesh. I don't want to serve the flesh. I don't want to obey sin. 

I don't think I have a conclusion at the moment. I have confused myself a little. 

One thing that does seem to be clear is that there is a new way of living. Don't let sin reign in me (chapter 6). I have peace with God (Chapter 5). The Law has no hold on me (chapter 7). Non-flesh living is Spirit living. So, if I have the Spirit of God do I also have the indwelling of the Spirit? It seems true that i have the Spirit of God upon conversion. I don't want sin. I don't want to be in the flesh. I want to live according to the Spirit.

Promise: The Spirit in Me is important for living not in the flesh.

Jesus Calling: March 27

    Be still in My Presence, even though countless tasks clamor for your attention. Nothing is as important as spending time with Me. While you wait in My Presence, I do My best work within you: transforming you by the renewing of your mind. If you skimp on this time with Me, you may plunge headlong into the wrong activities, missing the richness of what I have planned for you.
    Do not seek Me primarily for what I can give you. Remember that I, the Giver, am infinitely greater than any gifts I might impart to you. Though I delight in blessing My children, I am deeply grieved when My blessings become idols in their hearts. Anything can be an idol if it distracts you from Me as your First Love. When I am the ultimate Desire of your heart, you are safe from the danger of idolatry. As you wait in My Presence, enjoy the greatest gift of all: Christ in you, the hope of Glory!

Romans 12:2
English Standard Version

Do not be conformed to this world, 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.

Revelation 2:4
English Standard Version

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Colossians 1:27
English Standard Version

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

My Prayer
Lord, I fill my days with watching screens, staring at devices, jumping from event to event, often expressing to many how busy I am, how many things I have going on, yet inside, I know that often those are just words. Everyone seems busy, so I guess I am as well. Inside, I have so many things to do and yet, I don't get to them all. Lord, how often I skimp on time with You. I look for other ways to renew my mind rather than looking to You to renew my mind. Lord, the first think I often grab in the morning is not your scripture, but my phone to often see what others are saying when Lord you want to speak to me. I am so captivated by the ways of the World instead of being captivated by talking to You and sharing my life with You. I jump to different things and events in my life, hoping they will all yield something - nourishment, entertainment, a paycheck, a warm fuzzy feeling -- yet Lord, in You is found the ultimate Desire of my heart -- you keep me safe from it all -- if I will just take moments to wait in Your Presence. O Lord, wake me up! Bring me into Your sanctuary. Help me God to make You not simply a part of my life, but Life.  

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author. 

Zechariah 12

Message: The final siege of Jerusalem and the lifting of the siege (connected with Second Coming of Christ).

Time: Written after the Temple Was Completed circa 480-470BC

What the Lord is Saying: In this chapter Jerusalem is mentioned 10 times. The phrase "in that day" is mentioned 7 times in reference to the Day of the Lord (Great Tribulation Period).

Jerusalem is to be protected and specifically during the Second Coming of Christ and the tribulation period.

The Lord

• stretched out the heavens
• laid the foundations of the earth
• formed the human spirit

So? He has the power. Jerusalem will be protected. It will be an immovable rock. Nations will try but will be unsuccessful. A lot will be going on around Judah, but God is watching over you. You have enemies but they will be blinded. Strength will be found in the Lord. You will have security amidst chaos around you. The weakest will be as mighty as the highest King.

And then God will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer. They will be overcome with this spirit of forgiveness. People will  have sorrow

Promise: Physical renewal cannot occur until there is true spiritual renewal.

Jesus Calling: February 2

I am renewing your mind. When your thoughts flow freely, they tend to move toward problems. Your focus gets snagged on a given problem, circling round and round it in attempts to gain mastery. Your energy is drained away from other matters through this negative focus. Worst of all, you lose sight of Me.
     A renewed mind is Presence-focused. Train your mind to seek Me in every moment, every situation. Sometimes you can find Me in your surroundings: a lifting birdsong, a loved one's smile, golden sunlight. At other times, you must draw inward to find Me. I am always present in your spirit. Seek My Face, speak to Me, and I will light up your mind.

Romans 12:2
English Standard Version
Do not be conformed to this world, 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.

Psalm 105:4
English Standard Version
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!

My Prayer
Lord, I want my mind to be renewed. Thank you for changing me and changing my focus. Thank you for making my thoughts new and different. Continue to free me from my problems and distract me from them. They are there. And if nothing can be done about them at any moment, then I don't need to turn my focus to them. I know that me and my family members have a tendency to let problems begin to snare them and control them and they obsess with them. But, Lord, let us turn our focus on You and realize that You want us to not be anxious about our problems. Lord, I present them to You and pray that we would be drawn to You and understand that Your peace will pass all understanding.

Lord, remind me of Your presence. Remind me that You are in my surroundings. I can see You in nature, in other people. Keep my focus on You throughout the day. I don't want to wallow back and forth, but always be present on that High Road of faith.

Give me strength to be bold in my conversations, always looking for an opportunity to speak of You and share You with others.

Lord, the way of the world is not what I want to be about. Lord, train up me and train up churches and the people in them to seek You daily. Deepen all of our walks with You and make us Your ambassadors, always eager to speak of Your name.

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author. 

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.