Romans 12:1-2 AKJV

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

When we get to the reality of the matter, What really matters to us in life?

What we think of ourselves? What others and everybody else think of us?

Life. It’s a funny thing. Each of us, if we’re reading this little devotional, has been given a life, made up of the breath we breathe, the intellect we use, and the relationships we share. With every spoken word and every decision made, we each play a central role in the purpose our lives hold and legacy our lives leave.

Yet, time moves by so quickly and the resource of life can be used up before we realize. It takes hindsight observation to help us see clearly once again. Perhaps it’s a yearly celebration, a family reunion, or the turn of a new year. But, it’s only when we take that moment to reflect, respond, and re-new our decisions that we can change the course of the life we’ve been given.

Intentionality and pre-determined priorities help ensure we’re sacrificing the resource of our life to the things we value. So, before more life is sacrificed to the wrong things of this world, we must take time to determine what we value in Savior Jesus. Before you read, then reread today’s text, let’s stop to reflect.

What mercies has God offered to you in 2021?

What mercies from God definitely still await you in the days, weeks and months, years ahead of you?

List several ways you’ve seen God show up in obvious or subtle ways this year. Then, read Romans 12:1-2 in its various biblical versions and translations.

Romans 12:1-2 J.B. Phillips New Testament

We have seen God’s mercy and wisdom: how shall we respond?

12 ^1-2 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 ^1-2 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. 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.

Romans 12:1-2 Amplified Bible

Dedicated Service

12 ^[a]Therefore I urge you, ^[b]brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be ^[c]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].

Chapter 12 is the central shift in the book of Romans and today marks a shift in our lives. It’s a fresh start. We look back at what God’s done for us, so we can turn our eyes then toward a renewed way of living with the new year ahead. In view of what God’s done for you, both in the last year and in generations past, what one area in your personal and spiritual life do you want to respond to with priority in the remaining days of Real Thanksgiving ahead in 2021 into 2022?

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us Pray;

God of Grace, you call us to be different from the world, but the world is seductive, and so we come here to be strengthened. God of Vision, you hold before us an alternate way of life, different priorities, different loyalties, different values. But we know that the world is not only seductive but powerful, and so we are drawn in to following its priorities, accepting its values, showing loyalty to its gods. God who blesses the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful, forgive us when we lose sight of these qualities, when we misunderstand their role in the world. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.