A Transformed Life

If I had to pick a book of the Bible as a favorite Romans would be it! This is a book loaded with huge doctrinal truths! It is a book to transform your life!  Romans is a study of our faith and what we have in Christ. It is the story of God’s love and mercy to a rebellious world. Today let’s look at two wonderful verses that I hold close to my heart.

Romans 12:1-2 says…

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

And do not be conformed by this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 
Sometimes we just need the scripture fleshed out a little and spoken in a vernacular we can more easily understand. Here’s how THE MESSAGE translates these two glorious verses that tell us how to live…
 
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you; take your everyday, ordinary life. Your sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around life. And place it before God as an offering.
Embracing that 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 ever thinking! Instead, fix your attention on God! You will be changed from the inside out! Readily recognize what He wants and respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity… God brings the best out in you, and develop well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12: 1-3, The Message
 
In a world that turns on a whim and lusts after such ungodly things and is unsteady and reckless, there is a constant. A way of life that is sure and true and has huge benefits.
 
Not until we turn our lives over to God to walk with Him and obey Him and love Him with all our hearts will we ever find true purpose and peace in this world.
 
God is the real lover of our souls and the rock in our lives. He is about changing lives to have big meaning and purpose. Our job is to abide in a relationship with Him and obey Him. 
 
When we do we will look less and less like this our of control world. And more and more like our Savior, Jesus.
 
So how do you abide and obey? Read, no study, the Bible and obey what it says. The Bible is our instruction manual. Every word is life-giving and truth. It will show you how to conform to God our maker and LORD and how to live victoriously in this crazy world.
 
 
No wonder I love these verses in Roman’s so much! God is giving us a choice. Conform to Him or conform to this world. 
 
This reminds me of verses in Deuteronomy. The Isralites are just about to enter the land God promised them and He says,
 
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him: for this is your life and length of days that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to yoru fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them.
Deut 30:19,20
 
God gave Israel a multiple choice test. A- chose life, B- choose death, C- the answer is “A”, choose life.
 
God gives you and me the same choices in Romans, life with Him or life living in the chaos of the world. One is life giving the other is leads to death. God says, choose Me choose LIFE!
 
 
How do you want to live your life? YOU get to choose. Will you live a transformed life?
 
 
 
Roman’s 12:1,2 is a beautiful verse to memorize and live by:

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

And do not be conformed by this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

 

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28 Comments

  1. As always your Sunday message is a blessing . Thanks !

  2. Amen! The world needs Jesus now more than ever.
    Hugs and blessings to you.

  3. A timely message. Thank you for your inspiration each Sunday.

  4. Eva Dickerson says:

    Yvonne, thank you for your beautiful posts that you share each day. I truly appreciate the balance of all things home and garden and I LOVE the scripture lesson you include each week. May you continue to be blessed in every area of your life. Warmly, Eva

  5. Nancy Brantley says:

    Does do not be conformed by this world mean not to buy pretty stuff for house and garden? I struggle with this question….can you help me understand the difference between living for God and Worldly? I want to do the will of God.

    1. This is a great question. I think we can like things but we cannot let that like turn into an obsession to have them. God has blessed us beyond what we can think and imagine. And I’m speaking of the eternal realm. When I have masted living like this I’ll let you know!

  6. Nancy Brantley says:

    I love God and Jesus and try to live life for my God and Savior. However I’ve had a passion for decorating home and garden since a teenager. I’m always looking for something to put in my house or garden that is pretty to me. I’ve been thinking for awhile is this wrong? I’ve prayed alot of prayers about it….I pray I’m not doing wrong in God’s eyes. Thanks for trying to help me understand. Love your Sunday blog.

  7. If liking pretty things is wrong, then why would God have provided such beauty in the world? Flowers, sunsets, sunrises, the softness of a baby’s skin. I think God gave us this appreciation for beauty and we feather our nests in the same way.

  8. God’s Word is always applicable to our lives, but these passages right now….in our country ( as in Roman days)…..piercing and comforting at the same time. Thank you for sharing!

    1. Just remember our world is not falling apart. It is falling into place to prepare for our Lord’s return. Maranatha!

  9. Thank you for that “beautiful nudge” in the right direction of daily living. This week our Priest asked and challenged us to figure out how we are changed each time we receive the Eucharist. I feel filled with Hope for a wonderful week no matter what comes up.

    1. Communion is a sign of the Covenant we have with our Lord. It’s a beautiful time of intimate connection.

  10. LISA Pobst says:

    This was a true blessing to read ..thank you always ??

  11. Lori Axtman says:

    Very uplifting! Thanks.

  12. I am blessed to read this at the end of the Lord’s Day as I look to the week of work and interaction with many people. As I go through my work and errands and to-do lists, I pray that may I bring glory to Him as I live out my gratitude for all that He has done for me. Thank you for your reminder of renewal.

  13. Thank you for this message this morning, Yvonne. I turned on the TV this morning to watch my favorite minister, Dr. Charles Stanley, and learned that he had passed this week. I’m surprised at how deeply this affected me, and I was glad to have inspiration from your post.

    1. I know! He is with the Savior he preached about for years. Praise God. We will miss him.

  14. Thank you Yvonne. Do you recommend a good study bible? I would love to study .

      1. Thank you Yvonne…I will check it out!

  15. Beverly Ledbetter says:

    I memorized these verses years ago . Yes I agree they are two verses to live by . Amen ?