Category: Romans

  • Living Sacrifice – worship beyond Sunday

    Hands washing a white plate with a soapy sponge at a sunlit kitchen sink, with evergreen trees and a mountain outside the window

    I recently read a very old book, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It collects the teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicolas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite friar, compiled posthumously by Father Joseph de Beaufort. While there is much Brother Lawrence and I would likely disagree on theologically, I think He’s on to something here.

    His book is short, easy to read and available for free online or for purchase from a variety of sources

    Brother Lawrence understood that worship wasn’t just what we do at the Sunday service or mid-week prayer meeting. It’s what we do in our daily lives.

    The apostle Paul wrote:

    I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, 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. Romans 12:1-2 ESV

    Present our bodies as living sacrifices? He doesn’t say present your heart, mind or emotions, although those are part of worship. He’s pointing at something practical.

    Worship isn’t only a feeling on Sunday. It’s what your body does on Monday through Saturday. The way you work. The words you speak. The things you say. Your hands and feet helping someone or walking away.

    I love the way one writer describes it:

    “Paul calls this “your spiritual worship.” The word, latreia, described the service priests performed in the temple. Ordinary life becomes temple service. The office becomes an altar. The kitchen becomes an altar. The car ride, the classroom, the hospital shift. Under the old system, worship meant going to the temple. Now, Paul says, you are where the offering happens.”

    This idea is reinforced in Colossians.

    Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

    Don’t just worship on Sunday; let everything you do be an act of worship.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Paul calls us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, so worship isn’t confined to Sunday. Let everything you do this week, your work, your words, your hands and feet, be an act of worship.

    TAKEAWAY

    Worship isn’t only a feeling on Sunday. It’s what your body does Monday through Saturday: the way you work, the words you speak, your hands and feet helping someone or walking away.

    Your office, your kitchen, your car ride can all become an altar. Under the old system, you went to the temple; now you are where the offering happens.

    Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Don’t just worship on Sunday; let everything you do be an act of worship.

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  • When Depression Sinks Me

    I look normal, a little larger than life (in more than one way), but otherwise I look like everyone else. Yet, I have an invisible disability.

    I am a traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor and struggle with many issues, including treatment-resistant, chronic, clinical depression. I also fatigue easily and can become overwhelmed under certain forms of stress, particularly when I’m not well rested. The fatigue problem is contributed to by the fact that my TBI impacts sleep.

    Mostly, with the help of medication, a team of doctors and lifestyle management, it stays under control. Yet at times, it can still sneak in, and the depression will sink me for anything from a few hours to months.

    There isn’t much I can do to make the problem lessen once it hits. I can remove myself from people and stress, rest, and that’s about it.

    When I’m resting, I turn to the LORD. Some favorite passages of Scripture have carried me through.

    But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:1-7 ESV

    At other times, 

    No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 ESV

    I can also turn to other places, including promises for overcomers in Revelation and many of the Psalms.

    Where do you turn? Tell me in the comments.

    May you turn to Him no matter what you face and be blessed .

    Kevin.

    SUMMARY

    I live with an invisible disability that can sink me into depression for hours or months. When it hits, I rest and turn to the LORD through the Scriptures that carry me.

    TAKEAWAY

    When something sneaks in and sinks you, and there isn’t much you can do about it, you can still rest and turn to the LORD.

    God has called you by name and you are His. When you pass through the waters and walk through the fire, He is with you.

    Nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus, so turn to Him no matter what you face.

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