renewing

April 20, 2015

What Really Matters

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!​
12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God. 17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks​ ​of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.—Gal. 6:11-18 (NIV)
​Paul is still troubled​ by the religious leaders trying to get the new converts circumcised. They are only trying to impress others by an outward physical manifestation of their obedience to the law. If the people know they have been circumcised then they will assume that they still adhere to the tenets of the Old Testament law. This will keep the leaders and other non-believers from persecuting them. Since they didn’t keep the other points of the law, it really wasn’t about keeping the law at all. It was just something for the flesh to boast about.
​Under the new covenant of grace, circumcision has no meaning. ​The only thing that matters is that now we are new creations. We must die daily and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Our outward appearance is temporary and decaying daily. Once we shed this old tent, we will be like Jesus!
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.—1 John 3:2,3 (NIV)
—Post 04-20-2015
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December 12, 2013

A Living Sacrifice

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.


1. I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual[b] worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d] 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.-Romans 12:1-3 (NRSV)
​Yesterday, I mentioned being obedient unto death because of our love for Jesus. God only requires obedience to that point for a few of His children. But all of us should want to be living sacrifices for Jesus. That requires us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In other words, allowing God’s Holy Spirit to change our thought patterns and habits. This can only happen through the grace of God. We should never think of ourselves as worthless, after all, Christ died for us. But, at the same time, we should never think of ourselves as better than others. Jesus considered them worthy of His death as well. We all say, “O, I don’t think of myself as better than……”. But our thoughts lead to our actions and our actions often betray us and show the world what we are really thinking.
Post 12/12