C
Cael
Guest
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1.
I’d like to start off by allowing you to picture the following; do you ever recall going to a store with your Mother or Father and receiving that stern talking to about the way in which you are required to behave during the visit. Rules similar to “Don’t touch anything”, or “Look with your eyes, and stay close to the trolley” were the directions to conform. Once the shopping was over, many of us were compensated with a special treat at the end of the shopping to applaud our decorous behaviour. We were rewarded because we followed a direction and in many ways showed reverence or respect to our parents to allow them to focus on what items needed to be purchased. This principle of heeding to an instruction, considering it and then obeying it, resinates a lot with how God conducts his system with us today.
God embellishes his effective standard of asking us to “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship”. This passage is telling us that we should live our life as a sacrifice to God, praising him with reverence, sowed from conforming to his divine standards. He beckons with us to “conform not to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds”12:2. That tells us that spiritually, we live not under the “patterns” of this world, so the regulatory values, morals and ethics the world carries, aren’t inevitably our bearing to align with, but the Lords Patterns and virtues; Patience, Kindness, Humility and so forth. By conforming we are obeying. By living in purity and striving for holiness we are compliant to the Lords instruction like the child is to the parent. And yes, that means God will reward us, like our parents did, for submitting and “Perfecting holiness out of reverence for God”.
Now what does reverence for God and complying with the purification of our actions lead to? We’ll let me just remind you exactly why he has requested us to live like this. Hasn’t he promised us a divine truth that;"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (I Corinthians. 2:9)
Eternity is free. We don’t need to save up Dollars, Pounds or Rupees within our life in order to receive entry into the vast spectrum of the Empire of God. All he asks is for us to live as holy sacrifices to him. That means sacrificing and abolishing temptation to commit sin, for the Lord promises us two important things amongst others in the bible. Firstly, Sin leads to Death and we have all sinned, but serving the Lord, that means obeying, honoring and loving him, leads to the gate of Heaven and eventually the spiritual beginning of Eternal Life.
In our everyday walk with the Father we should steadily remember why we walk like this. We are servants, he is the master. We are lambs, he is the Sheppard, the intelligence, the human among the flock of lambs whose ability to live without a caretaker is grueling and unclear. We serve God for a matter of 80-100 years, and in remuneration, he gives us eternity in his peace and intimate custodianship.
Submitting to God and his Instruction for our life, allows him to work within the corners of our heart from every component of our life; Finances, Relationships, Employment and so forth. We are showing that we honor his supreme leadership in our life and that we understand our future has already been set on the table and all we are really doing is jumping from stone to stone with him in ultimate motivation for victory!
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” Proverbs 16:3
I’d like to start off by allowing you to picture the following; do you ever recall going to a store with your Mother or Father and receiving that stern talking to about the way in which you are required to behave during the visit. Rules similar to “Don’t touch anything”, or “Look with your eyes, and stay close to the trolley” were the directions to conform. Once the shopping was over, many of us were compensated with a special treat at the end of the shopping to applaud our decorous behaviour. We were rewarded because we followed a direction and in many ways showed reverence or respect to our parents to allow them to focus on what items needed to be purchased. This principle of heeding to an instruction, considering it and then obeying it, resinates a lot with how God conducts his system with us today.
God embellishes his effective standard of asking us to “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship”. This passage is telling us that we should live our life as a sacrifice to God, praising him with reverence, sowed from conforming to his divine standards. He beckons with us to “conform not to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds”12:2. That tells us that spiritually, we live not under the “patterns” of this world, so the regulatory values, morals and ethics the world carries, aren’t inevitably our bearing to align with, but the Lords Patterns and virtues; Patience, Kindness, Humility and so forth. By conforming we are obeying. By living in purity and striving for holiness we are compliant to the Lords instruction like the child is to the parent. And yes, that means God will reward us, like our parents did, for submitting and “Perfecting holiness out of reverence for God”.
Now what does reverence for God and complying with the purification of our actions lead to? We’ll let me just remind you exactly why he has requested us to live like this. Hasn’t he promised us a divine truth that;"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (I Corinthians. 2:9)
Eternity is free. We don’t need to save up Dollars, Pounds or Rupees within our life in order to receive entry into the vast spectrum of the Empire of God. All he asks is for us to live as holy sacrifices to him. That means sacrificing and abolishing temptation to commit sin, for the Lord promises us two important things amongst others in the bible. Firstly, Sin leads to Death and we have all sinned, but serving the Lord, that means obeying, honoring and loving him, leads to the gate of Heaven and eventually the spiritual beginning of Eternal Life.
In our everyday walk with the Father we should steadily remember why we walk like this. We are servants, he is the master. We are lambs, he is the Sheppard, the intelligence, the human among the flock of lambs whose ability to live without a caretaker is grueling and unclear. We serve God for a matter of 80-100 years, and in remuneration, he gives us eternity in his peace and intimate custodianship.
Submitting to God and his Instruction for our life, allows him to work within the corners of our heart from every component of our life; Finances, Relationships, Employment and so forth. We are showing that we honor his supreme leadership in our life and that we understand our future has already been set on the table and all we are really doing is jumping from stone to stone with him in ultimate motivation for victory!
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” Proverbs 16:3