Romans 12:1-12

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing, and perfect will."  Romans 12:1-2

The Lord God is such a merciful God to us!  He sent His own Son to die the horrid death on the cross for your and my sins! He also heaps undeserved and abundant blessings on us each day. He always protects us and is with us.  In light of all this, our Scripture passage today in Romans 12:1 tells us, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship"

This means that the Lord needs to permeate every area of our lives.  He must permeate our every action and our every thought!  Our faith must be expressed in total obedience to the Lord.  Our lives must be a "spiritual act of worship."  Our lives must show that we have the new life of the Holy Spirit flowing though us.  Our faith must not just be dead and empty ritual but must be based on a passionate love for the Lord. Our lives must be based on a zeal and passion to obey and do the Lord's will.  All we do must involve our desire to love and serve the Lord with our heart, mind, and will!  It involves more than our money, talents, and time but also the total giving of ourselves to the Lord. Jesus Christ gave His all for us on the cross.  The only reasonable response on our part is the giving of our all to the Lord.

Romans 12:2 tells us that we must not "conform any longer to the pattern of this world."  Rather me must be "be transformed" by the Holy Spirit.  This can only be accomplished by a "renewing" of our mind.  We must not follow the world's philosophies and ways of thinking.  We need to think Biblically and must think the way the Lord wants us to think.  We must pray to be transformed by the Holy Spirit in our thinking and our acting.  We must pray and desire to become more like Jesus.  We must pray to be transformed into a person who is pleasing to the Lord. Then you and I will truly "be able to test and approve what God's will is-His God pleasing and perfect will." Then we will be able to do what the Lord wants us to to do and not what our self-centered selves want to do in this life. His will is always good and "pleasing," because it glorifies the Lord.  It also leads to our spiritual and moral growth.  This is true even in difficult times when we do not understand the Lord's ways in our lives.  No improvement can be made on the will of God.  We must give our all to the Lord.

Our hearts and minds must be renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit so that we are more and more in the center of His will.  We must not be squeezed into the world's mold, but we must be shaped by God's will and thinking.  We must prove in practice in our lives that His plan for us is good and moves us to spiritual maturity.  We must prove in practice in our lives that we are totally committed to giving our all to the Lord.  The Lord must be our master stylist!  We must adjust our lives to His will and mind.  Zeal for the things of the Lord must never be lacking in our lives.  We must keep our spiritual fervor and excitement for the things of the Lord and for serving Him.  We must be joyful in the certainty of His promises and patient with His will for our lives. We must also pray for the Lord's help in our lives.  Our lives must be "living sacrifices" to the Lord. This is the reason for which we were created, and this is the only path to joy for time and eternity!