DAY
1 – SEPTEMBER 26
TITLE:
“OFFER YOURSELVES”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1-2
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1
KEY VERSE: “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.”
Romans 12:1
What does it mean to offer your body as a living
sacrifice? Paul is talking about more than the dedication of our physical body
to the Lord. He is calling for the dedication of the whole person. To present or
offer our whole self to the Lord is to totally surrender to the Lord. It is the
call of total commitment. As you read this letter of total commitment, would
you reflect on what it means for you to be totally committed to the Lord?
“The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I
have stepped over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or back away.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future
is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning,
smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving,
and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops,
recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by
faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, live by prayer and labor with
power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not
flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary,
negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or
meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up,
stored up, prayed up, paid up, spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go ‘till He comes, give ‘till I drop, preach
‘till all know and work ‘till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He
will have no problem recognizing me. My banner is
clear; I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.” (Anonymous)
DAY
2 – SEPTEMBER 27
TITLE: “A SURRENDERED LIFE”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1-2
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1
KEY
VERSE: “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.” Romans 12:1
I have been
encouraged in my own life by the story of Nee To-sheng,
or Watchman Nee in English. He was a man who lived a surrendered life. As I understand was customary when the
Chinese people reached a turning point in their lives, he changed his name from
Shu-tsu to Nee To-sheng.
His life was radically changed forever through Christ Jesus. He made a
commitment to “Give Christ all of my life, my loyalty, and my love.” It is
interesting that this man who had previously called being a preacher “the most
despised and base of all occupations,” became a preacher.
He had a
mentor by the name of Margaret Barber who helped him in his spiritual journey.
From the example of this Anglican missionary, his lifelong motto was, “I want
nothing for myself. I want everything for the Lord.”
His vision
was to evangelize all of China. He worked relentlessly to encourage Shanghai
Christians to share their faith. His words were hard to ignore. “Because you
are not witnessing, many have not heard the gospel. They will be eternally
separated from God. What a consequence of our apathy! This is my challenge to
you. Witness to at least one person a day. Witness to
whomever you meet. It is time for us to put feet to our faith.”
On April 10,
1953, Watchman Nee was arrested and charged as a lawless capitalist because of
his faith and his commitment to evangelism though it had become very dangerous.
The communist media informed the world of the ‘crimes of Watchman Nee,’ citing
many hundreds of alleged crimes and vices. He received a fifteen-year sentence
but was not released at the end of his term. During his first twenty years in
prison, he was allowed no communication, so he knew nothing of what had
happened to his wife. He became sick during his twentieth year in prison and
his captors allowed him limited communication. He found out that his childhood
sweetheart and beloved wife had also been arrested and had died years earlier.
On June 1, 1972, Watchman Nee died in prison after spending twenty years in
chains for the gospel. He truly had surrendered all to Christ. He is an example
of a surrendered life.
“All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him
I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him, In His
presence daily live
“I surrender all. I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.” (Judson Van Deventer)
DAY
3 – SEPTEMBER 28
TITLE:
“GOD’S MERCY”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1-2
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1
KEY
VERSE: “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.” Romans 12:1
Paul
had been pouring out his heart in the previous 11 chapters of his letter to the
Romans. Teaching on living life by faith in Jesus Christ, he laid down the
principle doctrines or teachings of the Christian faith. Based on all he has
been saying to the church, he now makes his strong appeal, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices…” Speaking with passion to those who were part of the
fellowship of the Body of Christ, he says in essence, “Brothers, I urge you to
respond to the mercies of God.”
Years
ago, someone wrote a little chorus that goes like this, “I will sing of the
mercies of the Lord forever, I will sing, I will sing. I will sing of the mercies
of the Lord forever, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.”
Paul
was a recipient of God’s mercy. It is the mercy of God that calls us to a life
of surrender and worship. It is God’s mercy that enables us to experience the
lifestyle of the transformed. Mercy is not deserved but is freely extended to
man through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote, “He saved us, not because of righteous
things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing
of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
Titus 3:5. John Donne wrote, “We are God’s tenants here, and yet, here
he, our landlord, pays us rents-not yearly, nor quarterly, but hourly and
quarterly; every minute he renews his mercy.
The
year was 1725. After reading Bishop Taylor’s book, entitled, Rule and Exercises of Holy Living and Dying, a man by the name of John
Wesley resolved to make his entire life “a sacrifice to God.” For the next
dozen years, he applied himself to devotion and doing the right thing, but he
utterly failed. Upon returning from America, he met Peter Bohler,
a missionary who explained to Mr. Wesley that he was trying to live in
sanctified life, a life of worship without receiving the mercy of God
demonstrated in Christ. This truth became clear to Wesley at a little society
gathering in London where he put his trust in Christ, Christ alone, for
salvation. As he responded to God’s mercy, he was able to offer himself as a
living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God as a spiritual act of worship.
DAY
4 – SEPTEMBER 29
TITLE:
“A NON-CONFORMIST”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1-2
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:2
KEY
VERSE: “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 12:2
Being a non-conformist may
seem non-Christian to the world at times, yet it is at the very heart of the
gospel. In contrast to the chameleon lizard that adjusts to its environment by
changing its color, the Christian consistently glows brightly in a dark world
with the colors of Christ. The follower of Jesus cannot adjust to the
environment of the world and imitate the light of Christ at the same time. The
godly cannot be worldly and remain true to who they are in Christ. The
Christian cannot camouflage or hide Christ in the jungles of the world.
Cornelius
Plantinga, Jr. said, “For Christians, the temptation
to be conformed to this world is desperately sweet and strong.” The peer
pressure of the world seeks to squeeze us into the mold of the world, but like
trying to put a square peg in a round hole, the Christian life does not fit
into the patterns of the world. The prevailing world view cannot be allowed to
shape the thoughts and behavior of the follower of Jesus. The Christian never
has and never will fit into the patterns of the world.
Worldliness
is alien to the righteousness of the gospel. The patterns in the economy,
politics, entertainment, and even religion of our day, are often different than
the patterns of Christ. Christians live
by the values and priorities of Christ in a world where they are foreign.
The
followers of Christ must be who they are wherever they are. Dark must not put
out the light or darken its glow. The Christian must not conform to the
darkness but must “walk in the light, as
he is in the light...” I John 1:7. Paul gives this instruction that helps
us understand what it means to be a non-conformist. He wrote, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to
sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your
body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God,
as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your
body to him as instruments of righteousness.” Romans 6:11-13.
DAY 5 – SEPTEMBER 30
TITLE: “GOD’S WILL”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:1-2
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 12:2
KEY VERSE: “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
12:2
“Not
my will, but Thine; not my will, but Thine;
Not
my will, but Thy will be done, Lord, in me.
May
Thy Spirit divine fill this being of mine.
Not
my will, but Thy will be done, Lord, in me.” (Hugh C. Benner)
Do you desire to experience God’s will
for your life? The mind needs radical renewal if it is to discern and do God’s
will. In the offering of ourselves wholly to God, our mind can be renewed by
the working of the Spirit. As has been said, “The will of God will never take
you to where the grace of God will not protect you.” God’s will is always best.
George W. Truet reminds us, “To know the will of God
is the greatest knowledge, to find the will of God is the greatest discovery,
and to do the will of God is the greatest achievement.”
Paul assumes that God’s will can be
known and lived out in our lives. Those who pursue and live out God’s will
demonstrate by their lives that God’s will is good, pleasing and perfect. God’s
will is good because it is beautiful and richly satisfying. It is free from all
connivance with evil. God’s will is pleasing, as it is acceptable and agreeable
to God and to us when realized in our lives. God’s will is perfect, for through
doing His will, we realize the end or purpose for
which our lives were designed.
Blaise Pascal, at age 17, devised one of the
first calculating machines based on a mechanism of rotating discs. Later, he
discovered what has become known as Pascal’s Law – a principle of water
pressure that forms the basis for modern hydraulics. In 1654, he had a
spiritual experience that changed his life. Since then, his many writings on
faith have been helpful to people of faith through the centuries. Here is one of his written prayers about
being committed to God’s will.
“O Lord, let me not henceforth desire
health or life except to spend them for you, with you and in you. You alone
know what is good for me; do therefore what seems best to you. Give to me or
take from me. Conform my will to yours, and grant that with humble and perfect
submission and in holy confidence, I may receive the orders of your eternal
providence, and may equally adore all that comes to me from you.”