26-Dec-14

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  Romans 12:1-3This day after we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, we think of sacrifice.  This is the path that Jesus lived — from the cradle to the grave, to resurrection.  Every step of the way was in love.  For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son...  That is love.Every gift of love  needs a response — a thank you, a praise, a rejoicing, a sacrifice, a change in the way we think.  This makes  thinking new and during the last few days of this old year, what more fitting way to celebrate the new year than transforming our mind.My Mom sat in the living room, with her Bible in her hands, head bowed in prayer at 11:55 pm on New Year’s Eve.  I asked her what she was doing.  This picture was at cross-purposes of the revelry in which the world participated and indulged.  She explained that bringing in the New Year is a time of re-purposing for the New Year.  Transforming her mind into ready- sacrifice of self to her Savior.The way of sacrifice is lonely and hard.  Ask Jesus.  He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and sweat drops of blood ran down his face.  Do we only worship the ‘god of comfort’?  Or can we praise God with thanksgiving.  We outwardly waste away, but inwardly we are renewed daily.  I picture the New Year as a hiker, picking up the heavy backpack of cares of this world and making the journey of another year sacrificing our well-being, our comfort to renew our hearts and minds with the bread of life and the living water as our daily fare.There are only six days to prepare …with bowed head and hearts filled with the joy of living with Jesus-Joy.  Arise and walk with Jesus this New Year.All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:15-17