The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 1:15-24 (day two) Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Vs. 24

It has been a joy to consider what it means to bear the image of God during this summer’s study. As we read this week’s passage, notice how many ‘body’ words are included: mind, flesh, body. Paul understood not just the metaphor of the body of Christ, but also the need to surrender everything we have to Kingdom purpose. If Christ is before all things and holds all things together, then we do well to recognize that is more than an institutional catchphrase, it is a reminder that we his handiwork. The image of God was not intended to be hidden, but displayed, celebrated, and shared. May we never tire of helping others to see how they were made to do the same.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 12:1-2  (day seven)

… present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

This week I came to a realization: I am not as young as I used to be. Some of you are now laughing at me, but as our bodies change with age, there are changes that we must choose to make. If I want to keep up with teenagers and toddlers, I need to make sure my body is up for the challenge. Not only is it about health, but this scripture tells us that it is a part of our worship. Our bodies are not our own. Our bodies have been given to us by God (in the image of God) to be given back to God in an act of worship.

The way that we treat our bodies is an indication of how we view God. In the Old Testament every sacrifice that was brought before God had to be Holy and acceptable. Deuteronomy 15:21 tells us that these sacrifices could not have defects, so as we look at what it means for us to present our bodies as a sacrifice in worship, we should work to remove the defects, spiritual and physical, that make it unacceptable. When we remember that our bodies belong to Him, He will help us make the decisions to keep it Holy!

Re:Verse passage – Romans 12:1-2 (Day 6)

This post could be part two of Bryan’s post, Real.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2

What Paul describes in Romans 12:1-2 is not new, but very old, all-the-way-back-to-the-beginning old. It isn’t extraordinary or exceptional, but as image bearers, it should be the most real and normal thing a human can do. In fact, we are our truest selves and the most alive when we give ourselves wholly to God and see the world through his wisdom.

Paul asks us to “Be everything God created you to be. Be normal.”

Re:Verse passage – Romans 12:1-2  (day five)  When we hear a truth or wonderful news, how long do we think about it?  With the amount of information and data that daily crosses our eyes and minds (mainly due to smarts phones, tablets, and TV’s) how long do we keep that information “stored”?  Often the tendency is to move on to the next communication or new news. But, Paul is prescribing something different. He is encouraging the Romans to keep thinking about and processing God’s mercy to them (the Gospel). It should act as a lens and filter for everything- our thoughts (renewed minds) and our actions (sacrificial living). Paul believes that we should be constantly and intentionally thinking and acting with God’s kindness and graciousness (to us) at the forefront of our minds. Actions, reactions, thoughts, words, speech, values, and priorities all should pass through the filter of God’s great love and kindness to us. I like another translation of this verse, “in view of God’s mercy”. What would our lives, minds, and hearts look like if we constantly kept this “view” and perspective?

Re:Verse passage – Romans 12:1-2  (day four)

When it comes to the daily, weekly routines of life, we all have a certain way of doing things. Oftentimes, we do something in a particular way because that’s the way our parents did it. We don’t give it much thought, we just do things the way we saw our parents do them year after year. Whether it’s cooking, household chores, or even subtle mannerisms, when we watch something done in a particular way for a long time, we do it that way too. We don’t have to think about it.

This is fine and even endearing when it comes to the small tasks of life. Paul warns us, though, not to allow our culture to influence us in this way. Everyday, we watch how the world around us handles things. We watch as people engage in politics with hate and immaturity. We watch as people treat those who are different from them with distrust and suspicion. We watch as people put their trust in wealth and material gains. We watch as people put themselves above others, doing whatever it takes to get ahead. We watch these things everyday. If we’re not careful, we’ll begin to follow these patterns without even thinking.

Rather than following the ways of the world, Paul tells us to renew our mind. When we fight to make our time in prayer and Scripture a priority, the Spirit renews us and shows us God’s perfect will and perfect love. We begin to see things clearly, and the patterns of the world become foolish to us. We need this renewal every day, and God is faithful to do this work in us.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 12:1-2  (day three)

“Do not be conformed to this world…”

Only so many possibilities can be imagined within this age. Everything else gets assigned to the category of the impossible. But Jesus began to reveal that there exists more to reality than people had heretofore seen. The physical environment, the human body, relations between people – each of these domains can function only in the ways that are possible, and what’s possible had been, until Jesus, dictated by the conventional understanding of the world passed down by human civilizations. The classical philosophers had attempted to expand that understanding, and, through the prophets, God prepared Israel for what was to come. Finally, God’s Son provided the transformative power for people to see what heaven sees. Jesus said, “With God, all things are possible.” Following his Lord’s lead, Paul urges us to open our eyes to what’s really real.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 12:1-2  (day two) 

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 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.

If we can agree that God’s will is perfect, our quest should be to discern what that will is for our lives. Inevitably we must ask the question; how can I know God’s will? Paul is clear that our sanctification is a whole person endeavor. We are to take care of our body. What we put into it, what we do with it, how we care for it; all these things matter. To know God’s will, is to order our minds toward the things of God. We are called to renew, to refresh, to give live to our way of thinking. God’s Word will always be a challenge to our way of thinking, and we must take care to let it shape and refine us into who he wants us to be, not what we think we should be. Make this a priority as you consider what God’s will for your life should be.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 31:8  (day seven)