How Do We Worship?
Part 6 of 6
Text: Romans 12:1-2, THE MESSAGE
Romans 12:1-2, The Message
12 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
and our Comforter with our lives.
Everything we do should be “kingdom business”. So many times we view our lives as two parts: the secular and the sacred. We compartmentalize our lives. Why? Perhaps we don’t act the same way outside of the building as we act inside of it. We can justify not acting like a Christian and blame it on our surroundings. Yet, God has called us to penetrate our surroundings and change it. We called to be salt and light to our world. Guess what? That doesn’t mean being “holy” just at church. We are called to be “holy” all the time!
1 Peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
This Scripture leaves little room for not acting like Christ in all of our lives. We are called to different. Can your coworkers and family tell you are a Christian? Or do you look, taste, smell, think, and act so much like the world that someone is surprised to know you are a “Christian”. This idea was mentioned briefly in my last posting: we are to be set apart from the world. That doesn’t mean we are better than they are or we do not associate with them because we trying to stay “spotless”—quite the contrary. We are called to infiltrate our world and transform it from the inside out.
- Remember: we are reminded by Jesus’ prayer in John 17:16 we are not a part of this world any more than Jesus was a part of this world.
- Worship is not limited to one day a week (Saturday or Sunday). We should worship God everyday by the way we live.
- This is why this song “From the Inside Out” rings such a chord with me.
- In my heart in my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside outEverlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never-ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out
Hebrews 13:15-16, NLT
15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
Empty Hands held high
Such Small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight
May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my life-song sing
Bring a smile to you
“Lifesong”
Words & Music by Mark Hall
Record by Casting Crowns