The people who know God light up! As we become more like Christ, His glory increases in us brighter and brighter. Our reflection of Him continues to increase.
The more intense a light gets, the harder it is to see the light bulb!
Eventually, all you see is the light itself! And get this…light bulbs can break! 
I think this is similar to what Paul writes about treasures in jars of clay. The fact that we can relfect God through our own mortality only proves the power of God at work. The ability to know and relfect God is in fact the display of an “all-surpassing power” from God. Even though death is at work in our mortal bodies causing us to waste away, God’s glory is at work within us, renewing us day by day, causing an ever-increasing reflection! WOW!
“Therefore, in view of God’s mercy offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your spiritual act of worship.”
I think I’ve raddled that verse off in my head a thousand times. Isn’t it amazing how a verse can sit with you for so long, and yet over time a new layer of understanding is revealed? The first section of this verse is the what: offer our bodies as a living sacrifice and it’s this second section about the how that I think is so important to understand.
Holy
Holy is a term that we throw around a lot, especially at church and yet sometimes we really lack a frame of reference for it. Maybe your thinking goes something like this…
…Holy…ok..what is holy?…um…God is holy, at least I know the Bible says He is…
…but I’m not sure exactly what that means… …the Bible says I am holy…not that’s odd thought…I am holy?
….hmmm… I’ve heard of Holy Communion, Holy Baptism, Holy Water… ok…I’m confused….
The Book of Romans, originally written in the Greek language, uses the term hagios (holy) to refer to purity or blamelessness. The same word is used in Ephesians 1:4 where Paul writes saying, “…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy (hagios) and blameless before Him, in love…”
So how then do we offer our bodies in a holy way? Simply stated, its allowing God’s presence to work in us and through us. Matthew Henry, a well-known 18th century theologian said, “to be godly is to give ourselves to God.” We live holy lives by surrendering to God in all we do. This is more than prayer meeting or weekly church attendance. It is a daily commitment to setting aside your agendas for the agendas of God. Kenneth Wuest comments on the word Holy in his book Wuest Word Studies: “The worshiper of the God of the Bible partakes of the character of the God for whom he is set apart (31). Worshipers become set apart when they become Christians and then set apart their lives in worship to God with purity, without fault.
That says a lot to us when we consider how impure our lives can really become. If our hearts desire is to glorify the Lord, then we will seek to rid ourselves of all the impurities in life that will keep from honoring God. As it says in 1 Corinthians, “you were bought with a price, therefore honor God with your body.”
Pleasing
It is noteworthy to see the word pleasing next to the word holy in this context. These words carry much similarity in regards to what Paul is describing as a living sacrifice in the context of worship. The word pleasing here in Greek is euarestos, which means fully agreeable or well-pleasing. This is the same word used by Paul in Ephesians 5:8-10 when he says, “Live as children of light … and find out what pleases the Lord.” Not only should our living sacrifices be set apart and pure, but they should also be pleasing to God. I find this so important because the holiness of our lifestyle is pleasing to God and what is pleasing to Him is the fact that our lives are kept holy.
The So-What Part
So, in light what ever you’re doing today, is it being done with a pure heart? Check your motives for the words you choose and the things that you buy. Do you spend a lot time doing things that are impure or destructive? My point is that the living sacrifices must come with a heart of purity attached to it. I’m sure all of us one day will want to stand before the Lord and hear Him say well done, good and faithful servant! By God’s grace, let us be people who live pure and pleasing lives unto the Lord!
Ephesians 5:15 – “Be very careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
In studying the story of the Exodus, I came across a profound theme. For a quite a long time, I thought of the Israelites and their departure from Pharaoh as means to release them from bondage. Of course I wasn’t wrong in thinking that, but in reading about the Exodus again, I come to the question of WHY! Sure, the Israelites needed to be released from bondage, but why?
Exodus 5:1 says this, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’” Later in Exodus 9:1, the LORD says, “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” The theme continues in verses 9:13, 10:3, 10-8-9, and 10:24. God calls for a release from bondage simply for the purpose of worshiping Him! WHOA!
Ever felt like someone was watching you? Like there was a presence in the room, as if there was this pair of eyes just staring at you, and you didn’t know why?
Ah! The joys of being a father. No matter what I do, if I look down, there’s this precious little boy of mine who desires to much to have my attention. And when I give him my attention, I notice how much he tries to be like me. He’ll repeat words I say, make hand gestures the way I do, and sometimes act like me so much it’s scary! In many ways, he looks to reflect me! Another Chad in the house? Hmmm…I’m not sure that’s a good thing….
Everywhere in Scripture, we find a theme of reflection. In 1 Peter, the Word says “be holy, for I am holy.” Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Reflection is a huge thing in the Christian walk. Everything we do is for the very point of reflecting God. Just as my son looks to reflect me, so I must look to reflect God, as His son.
Back in February, I had a chance to attend John Piper’s leadership conference, and there the speakers spoke about “sonship.” Biblical sonship is much different than what we consider to be sonship here in America. When asked who our father is, typically we respond with the person we are related to genetically. Even more so, most of us end up doing work completely different than our earthly fathers. It is not typical in America for sons to continue the line of work their fathers do. Sonship is more of a genetic term.
Biblical sonship has a different look. In Biblical times, it was very common for the son to work with father all day long, and when old enough, take over the work of father. Sonship dealt more with the line of work they were in than with who they were related to genetically. Your father then was more than a genetic relation, he was a teacher, an identity maker, someone you learned from. Biblical sonship was tied very closely to behavior.
In John 5, Jesus makes some strong claims. “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he see his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all he does.” Here, we see Jesus seeks to do whatever the Father does; his actions are co-existent with his Father’s actions. The Son obeys the Father, because he loves the Father.
Jesus’ sonship was marked by His behavior, and at that point in Scripture, He is healing on the Sabbath. This was a big deal to the Pharisees, who held the law, and thought Jesus was not acting according to it. But Jesus refutes this idea by stating his behavior as reflective of his Father. As Jesus’ relationship is with the Father, so my son looks to me. As my son looks to me, so I too should look to my heavenly Father, to do and to act has He does, because I love Him, and because He loves me.
What we do must be a reflection of our Father, because we love Him, and His character demands that of us. Let us be a people who look, with every effort, to become more like Him, to reflect Him, and thereby glorifying Him.
“Whatever we do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17.
“We will be glad and rejoice in Thee.”—Song of Solomon 1:4
E will be glad and rejoice in Thee. We will not open the gates of the year to the dolorous notes of the sackbut, but to the sweet strains of the harp of joy, and the high sounding cymbals of gladness. “O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation.” We, the called and faithful and chosen, we will drive away our griefs, and set up our banners of confidence in the name of God. Let others lament over their troubles, we who have the sweetening tree to cast into Marah’s bitter pool, with joy will magnify the Lord. Eternal Spirit, our effectual Comforter, we who are the temples in which Thou dwellest, will never cease from adoring and blessing the name of Jesus. We WILL, we are resolved about it, Jesus must have the crown of our heart’s delight; we will not dishonour our Bridegroom by mourning in His presence. We are ordained to be the minstrels of the skies, let us rehearse our everlasting anthem before we sing it in the halls of the New Jerusalem. We will BE GLAD AND REJOICE: two words with one sense, double joy, blessedness upon blessedness. Need there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord even now? Do not men of grace find their Lord to be camphire and spikenard, calamus and cinnamon even now, and what better fragrance have they in heaven itself? We will be glad and rejoice IN THEE. That last word is the meat in the dish, the kernel of the nut, the soul of the text. What heavens are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, ay, and every drop of their fulness in Him! Since,
O sweet Lord Jesus, Thou art the present portion of Thy people, favour us this year with such a sense of Thy preciousness, that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in Thee. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.
This little man will one day grow up, and probably do a lot of the same things that I do (gosh that’s a scary thought!). But amazingly enough, God shows me a great mystery, in that he gave me a son! To what degree will having a son change me I guess I’ll know soon enough. I just know that I can’t help but be overly joyful in being a father. Psalm 127:3-5a “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”
I have learned in my life that God fills the voids that even we sometimes don’t know exist. One day you’re walking along, everything seems ok, and you’ve done everything you can to put your past behind you. Then, out of nowhere, that path ends, and massive void confronts you. I came across Psalm 34:17-18, and was reminded that when that void hits, God is there.
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;” Ha! How could I allow myself to become so numb to the idea that God couldn’t fill the void that I have with in me? All I need to do is cry out, and He’s there. Later, in vs. 18, it says that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. I can say that when the void hits, its like a blow to the emotions. Its like I’ve come to the end of the path, and then without even knowing it, just walked right off.
But how assuring is it that we serve a God who fills the void, and when we see a hole, God sees a place to stand. I pray that every hole in my life would be filled by the Spirit of God, so that I can stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe of the one who gave it all, my soul surrendered to Him, Jesus!
Psalm 104 starts off with the scripture verse “Let all that I am praise the Lord.” I read that this past Sunday while I was standing in worship, and to be honest, I couldn’t get past it. I kept thinking about how all that I am doesn’t praise the Lord, areas where God hasn’t been able to get in to me, b/c of my pride and my own control. I felt the Lord tell me that it was time to come forward to a new era of worship, a new place with Him, a place I’ve never been before. I’m excited to see where this goes, and I’m humbled by the fact that God would speak to me. He is always available, if we will just go to Him, sit at His side, and list to Him speak.
