Romans 12:1–2
A Living Sacrifice
[1] I appeal to you therefore, brothers,(1) by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.(2) [2] Do not be conformed to this world,(3) but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.(4)
Zephaniah 1:7 – Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.
Psalm 37:5 – Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
Earlier this week, I was listening to John Eldredge and the Ransomed Heart Podcast which featured their New Years Episode. At Ransomed Heart, John and his staff do not believe in New Years Resolutions, but do believe in consecration. Consecration is defined as “to set apart as holy and to dedicate to a given goal or service” (Webster’s New College Dictionary, 2001). Each year the staff members consecrate their year to their Lord Jesus Christ. They dedicate their money, time, and resources to the Lord. They also break any agreements that they might have made with themselves or the enemy that is keeping them from experiencing freedom in Christ. Lastly, they try to hear from the Lord what their themes for the year will be.
As I have been marinating over what to write for a New Year’s Post, and since I am getting married in the spring, I will be dedicating my future marriage to the Lord this year as an area to focus on. I will also be consecrating my body since being healthy is always a goal of mine. When it comes to breaking agreements, I have noticed that a lot of my struggles with my relationships and with my responsibilities center around fear and anger. Quoting Saint Bono (from U2), I want to choose love over fear (1 John 4:18). I want to choose peace over chaos and strife. I want to choose freedom over bondage and slavery.
Regarding themes for the year, I am not as clear yet what they maybe. I know after listening to the Village Churches Sermon from Matt Chandler, he encouraged his congregation to “Abide in Christ” (John 15:9), and for John Eldredge, being united in Christ was theme for his. I do believe that unity and peacemaking will be one of the themes for this year. The apostle John writes when Jesus was praying what theologians call the “high priestly prayer”:
John 17:20–24
[20] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23] I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (ESV)
Oneness from the high priestly prayer is all about being in Christ just Jesus was in the Father, and that by abiding in Christ there is oneness and a love that comes from the Father.
Concerning unity, the Apostle Paul writes:
1 Corinthians 1:10 – I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
Ephesians 1:10 – as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Hebrews 4:2 – For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
Divisions arise when we are not of the same judgment and mindset. Being united in Christ also keeps the unity since all things are in him both in heaven and on earth. According to the writer of Hebrews, the gospel unites, but for those who do not receive the gospel message, were not united in the faith. He writes to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 4:3 – eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Being a peacemaker, I want to hold fast to the gospel message that unites other believers together, be united to Christ in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4), and being united in the same mindset and judgment with other believers about the gospel (1 Peter 3:8). Jesus says, Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Our identity shines forth when we make peace with our fellow mankind.
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