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Day 33: Romans 12/Psalm 73
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Sunday March 28, 2004
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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 (New International Version)
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Get
radical--Don’t conform!
At times when I’ve attempted to guide my teens through the morass of cultural
choices that lie before them, I’ve been shocked. I’ve been shocked not
so much by their choices (good or bad), but by the fact that I end up
saying things that sound so much like my own parents. “You say you want
to be different, but you’re really looking and acting just like
everyone else!” Or, “If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you
do it too?”
I grew up in the
60’s and 70’s with kind of a warped value for nonconformity.
Nonconformity was cool, but in attempting to be a nonconformist I was
in reality just conforming to whatever group I wanted to associate
with. I never knew what true non-conformity was until I met Jesus.
In this passage Paul challenges us to “not conform any longer to the
pattern of this world,” but to “be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.” When we say “Yes” to Jesus, a radical transformation begins. The
more we open our hearts and minds to the transforming power of Jesus
Christ, the more we become like Him. We begin to find that our
assumptions, values and priorities change. Whether I’m politically
correct or incorrect, liberal or conservative, religious or
nonreligious, wealthy or poor--if I’m not surrendered to this merciful
God that Paul’s talking about-- then I’ve conformed to this world. As
an alternative, Jesus invites us to follow Him. We don’t have to stay
where we are, or go with the crowd. We don’t have to settle. We don’t
have to conform. Instead we can choose to follow Him. We can offer
ourselves to God as “living sacrifices” and say, “Yes” to His transforming
power. But be forewarned--if you do this, you are on your way to
becoming a truly radical nonconformist!
Today’s
Prayer:
Lord, I thank you for your invitation to follow You. Show me where
I’ve conformed to this world and help me to now surrender completely to
You. Renew my thinking and transform my life by Your power.
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Memory Verse of the Week:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit
of life set me free from the law of sin and death. "
Romans 8:1-2 (New International Version)
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For a complete
listing of all the previous devotionals in this "50 Day
Experience," click here.
To read the chapter or psalm of the day online, click on one of the
following links:
o
Romans
12
o
Psalm
73
Dan Henry, henry@cincyvineyard.com,
North Central Zone Pastor at VCC
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