learning DAILY



Romans 12:1-2, I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Over the years, I have used these verses in school devotions, shared them with students in chapels, and referred to them often as a reminder of how God desires me to live.  Since they were referred to in the last page of the blog, it seemed fitting to share some thoughts on them today.

Beseech is an interesting word – not one I use when I speak.  It is the Greek verb parakaleo and means “to call to, exhort, or urge.”  Paul uses parakaleo several times in his writings to encourage his readers rather than in a demanding or authoritative way. In doing a little research I found it interesting that a related word is parakletos or Paraclete which is a descriptive name given to the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit comes alongside those who put their faith in Jesus Christ to encourage and exhort them to be faithful.

When we understand just what Christ did for us by taking our punishment for our sinful life, we begin to desire to live our lives differently.  Paul is encouraging his readers (and that would include us today) to live their lives differently than what they did before Christ came into their lives.  The things we do and say become different as we strive to live lives that are acceptable to God. 

Paul encourages us to “not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed”.  There is certainly real pressure to conform to the pattern of this present world system, to fit into a mold that makes us like everyone else.  For example, think of the pressure being put on Christians to accept homosexuality and abortion.  No, we are to resist those things that are contrary to the Word of God.  The reason we must resist this world system is because it is under the rule of Satan (see John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19) and is against God and His people.  You have seen how everything pertaining to God has been attacked and removed from public places.  This world system we live in is based on human wisdom and values, full of deception and darkness.

Believers are called to be a light in darkness and not be drawn into the many forms of worldliness that is present in the world around us.  I am talking about self-centered living, humanistic thinking, the political maneuvering for power, ungodly entertainment, immorality, greed.  Do I need to go on? 

The alternative to conforming to the world’s values and lifestyle is “to be transformed by the renewing of your mind”.  A word that comes from the Greek word for transformed is metamorphosis and indicates change from the inside out.  Paul is encouraging us to let our mind be renewed in order to think and live the life that God wants us to live.  When we fill our mind with the thought of God, we begin to test, prove, and know that God’s will is good and perfect.  Satan slanders God’s will and just the opposite – not good, not desirable and not perfect.

These are pretty intense times we live in.  Those around us need to see the change that Jesus Christ brought to your life in order to be encouraged.  How often the phrase has been used that your life may be the only Bible that another person might read; it is true.  Let them see that difference by the way you live your life. 

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