Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 4,299
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2 NASB1995)
Only by the mercies of God, and in his power, are any of us able to do what this talks about here. Only by the grace of God, in God the Father sending Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, to die on a cross and to put our sins to death with him, are any of us able by faith in Jesus Christ to die with Christ to sin and to obey our Lord’s commands in daily practice. All this comes from God and is empowered of God and is gifted to us by God. Not one of us, in our flesh, is deserving of God’s love and grace. All glory belongs to God!!
But Jesus Christ did not give his life up for us on that cross just to forgive us our sins and to promise us heaven as our eternal home. He put our sins to death with him on that cross so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we will now die to sin and live for God in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living. By God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus we are to surrender our lives to God to do his will, and we are to submit to his Lordship over our lives, and we are to die daily to sin and to follow Jesus where he leads us.
Because Jesus Christ put our sins to death with him, we are to die to sin. And because God raised him from the dead, we are to live new lives in Christ Jesus, no longer as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness. We are to give our bodies over to God as living and holy sacrifices to God, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship of God. For worship of God is not just singing songs of worship, and raising our hands, as we see many people doing, but it is in following our Lord in obedience to his commands.
And worship of God is not something we do in a “worship service” via singing songs of praise to God if our lives are not surrendered to the will of God, and if we are not living holy lives, pleasing to God. We may be going through the motions of “worship,” but true worship of God, of Christ Jesus, involves us dying to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord in surrender to the will of God for our lives, in holy living, empowered by God. Our lives are no longer our own to be lived how we want, but they are to be lived for the will of God.
And then we are no longer to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. We should not look like, act like, speak like, think like, and live like the ungodly of this world. We should not blend in with the culture of the world to be accepted by the people of the world. But we are to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are now being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, as we cooperate fully with God’s work of love and grace in our lives in molding us into his likeness.
For we are now to be transformed in heart and mind and behavior by the grace of God, empowered by God, by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ. Our old lives of living for self and in sin should have been put to death by faith in Jesus Christ. Sin should no longer be our practice, but obedience to God in righteous and holy living is to be what we practice, by the grace of God. Sin should no longer have mastery over our lives, but God should now be Lord and Master of our lives as we now live holy lives which are pleasing to God.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Only By The Mercies of God
An Original Work / October 14, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Only by the mercies of God, and in his power, are any of us able to do what this talks about here. Only by the grace of God, in God the Father sending Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, to die on a cross and to put our sins to death with him, are any of us able by faith in Jesus Christ to die with Christ to sin and to obey our Lord’s commands in daily practice. All this comes from God and is empowered of God and is gifted to us by God. Not one of us, in our flesh, is deserving of God’s love and grace. All glory belongs to God!!
But Jesus Christ did not give his life up for us on that cross just to forgive us our sins and to promise us heaven as our eternal home. He put our sins to death with him on that cross so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we will now die to sin and live for God in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living. By God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus we are to surrender our lives to God to do his will, and we are to submit to his Lordship over our lives, and we are to die daily to sin and to follow Jesus where he leads us.
Because Jesus Christ put our sins to death with him, we are to die to sin. And because God raised him from the dead, we are to live new lives in Christ Jesus, no longer as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness. We are to give our bodies over to God as living and holy sacrifices to God, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship of God. For worship of God is not just singing songs of worship, and raising our hands, as we see many people doing, but it is in following our Lord in obedience to his commands.
And worship of God is not something we do in a “worship service” via singing songs of praise to God if our lives are not surrendered to the will of God, and if we are not living holy lives, pleasing to God. We may be going through the motions of “worship,” but true worship of God, of Christ Jesus, involves us dying to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord in surrender to the will of God for our lives, in holy living, empowered by God. Our lives are no longer our own to be lived how we want, but they are to be lived for the will of God.
And then we are no longer to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. We should not look like, act like, speak like, think like, and live like the ungodly of this world. We should not blend in with the culture of the world to be accepted by the people of the world. But we are to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are now being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, as we cooperate fully with God’s work of love and grace in our lives in molding us into his likeness.
For we are now to be transformed in heart and mind and behavior by the grace of God, empowered by God, by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ. Our old lives of living for self and in sin should have been put to death by faith in Jesus Christ. Sin should no longer be our practice, but obedience to God in righteous and holy living is to be what we practice, by the grace of God. Sin should no longer have mastery over our lives, but God should now be Lord and Master of our lives as we now live holy lives which are pleasing to God.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Only By The Mercies of God
An Original Work / October 14, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
