Day 125: How Do We Implement Spiritual Exercises?
We each have a choice as to who we will allow to shape us at our core. Father God seeks to transform us from the inside out. He is seeking to change the core of who we are. Through the Holy Spirit, He is transforming, reforming, remaking our thoughts, desires, and emotions so that they are like Christ’s.
Romans 12:1-2
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God —which is your genuine worshipping service. 2 And do not allow yourselves to be conformed to this present world; instead, allow yourselves to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
In this passage from Romans, Paul introduces two “big picture” ideas: 1) presenting our bodies as sacrifices, and 2) allowing ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.
First of all, notice that Paul bases these exhortations on a response to the “mercies of God.” I believe this is a way of summarizing all that Paul discussed in the first 11 chapters of this awesome letter to the Romans. We do what we do as a response to the ways that Father God has mercifully blessed us by His grace In Christ! Again, we see that our acting is a response to Father God’s initiation.
How do I Present my Body?
Everything we are and do involves our bodies. In many contemporary discussions on spiritual growth, our bodies are a neglected issue. However, all of life is experienced and expressed through our bodies. If you think back, we have said that your body is the “vehicle” that is used by your spiritual self to express your identity. Consider what Paul says about this.
Romans 6:11-14
…So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as weapons to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as weapons to be used for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
We have only two choices: 1) present our bodies to God for His service, or 2) present our bodies to the power of sin for unrighteousness. It really is just that simple. Each day in the multitude of choices that come before us, these are the two options that stand at the root of every decision.
In Romans 12, Paul exhorts us to give our bodies to God as sacrifices. He then qualifies and describes this sacrifice in three ways:
Alive | This bodily sacrifice that we are making to God is not a “killing” of ourselves; this is a sacrifice that is ongoing—alive. To be clear, as we give ourselves over to God, we do “kill” our fleshly, sin corrupted “old selves.” This sacrifice is a life-long giving of ourselves in service to Father God.
Holy | This sacrifice of our bodies is one that is set apart—the basic meaning of holy—to God’s service. We do things for His sake. We focus on serving Him for His glory. Since we become like what we worship (see Psalm 115:4–8; 135:15–18), we set ourselves apart to Father God by centering Christ in our lives. In this act, we are submitting ourselves to Him so that we can share in His character. He desires for us to be like Him. As we set our attention on Him, by His grace He will transform us into His likeness.
Pleasing | This sacrifice that we make with our bodies is one that is based in God’s grace. It is well pleasing to God in that we are offering ourselves to Him, to His power, so that He might work in us what we could not do ourselves. It is well pleasing as we become people who are characterized by all that is good and praise-worthy.
Now notice one last thing about all of this: this is our genuine, real, true worshipping service. The word that Paul uses here can be translated both as “service” and “worship.” We have combined the ideas because they are closely related in the Bible. In this passage, Paul is drawing on Priest-Sacrifice language out of the Old Testament. In that context, serving God is the basis of true worship. Now, in Christ, you and I are both priests serving God AND we are also the sacrifice. We give all of ourselves to Him in service—this is the very essence of true worship.
How Do We Allow Ourselves to Be Transformed?
Finally, notice in verse 2 that we are not to allow ourselves to be conformed to the World, but instead, we are to allow ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of our Minds. If you remember, there are two powers seeking to captivate us: 1) The Devil who is at work in the World through the Sin that dwells in our Flesh and 2) The Father who is at work in Christ through the Spirit who dwells in our Hearts. The Devil seeks to press and crush us into his mold—he only wants to conform us. Conforming something means to make an external change without affecting its nature or essence. The Devil is happy if you look good on the outside (good behavior) so long as you remain rotten on the inside (thoughts desires, emotions).
Father God, however, seeks to transform us from the inside out. He is seeking to change the core of who we are. He is transforming, reforming, remaking our thoughts, desires, and emotions so that they are like Christ’s.
We have a choice as to who we will allow to shape us.
Father-God desires that we follow Him in Christ. He desires that we allow Him to transform us as we cooperate in the renewing of our minds. Our Minds guard and process all our thoughts, desires and emotions. Father God desires that we learn how to lessen the distraction and static that comes to us from the World and our Flesh so that we can focus on His goodness and grace and beauty. Consider this:
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. 9 And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.
That mindset is at the heart of all we do and especially as we think about our spiritual exercises.
Think about all that you have heard this week. Who are you giving yourself over to on a daily basis?
Who are you allowing to shape your life?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
