“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
It is important to be who God has called you to be. Your calling is unique and specific to how God made you. All the way down to your personality and certain little quirks in your behavior. We’re like fingerprints. None of us are exactly alike. We are all different and special in our own right. As we walk in our purpose we have nothing to fear, because God himself rewards our efforts to further His kingdom with Himself.
Yes. Himself. The reward is not money, houses, cars or a spouse. Those may be some perks along the way but they’re not the ultimate reward. The ultimate reward is God. We strive here to be more like him and to get as close to Him as possible in relationship. He’s the end goal. This is why Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Rather, His right way of doing things. These other things will be added, but it’s not what we’re seeking. We’re going after Christ.
This is not so much about a change of activity as it is about a change in our mindset. Jesus said the stuff is things that the gentiles or worldly people seek after. Their goal is the stuff, but all of these things pass away. The goal of Christ and His kingdom never fades away. It’s eternal. Paul wrote that we are to set our affections on things above where Christ is. Don’t allow the things of this world to cloud your mind and cause you to lose focus.
I think at times even in the church we are guilty of this same mindset. We focus too much on the worldly things and not on the spiritual. Either preachers making God into our cosmic Santa Clause who gives us what we want or demonizing everything making sure we aren’t acting “worldly.” God is not Santa just shelling out gifts with no purpose. And God is certainly not telling us that every single thing outside of church is evil. In seeking the kingdom the Spirit of God can renew our minds and give us a balanced and sober way of thinking so that we will know what things we need to put out and what we need to let in. The Holy Spirit of God will teach and give us wisdom.
I have a particular thing I wanted to point out with that and that is church attire. Church leadership has commonly taught that for a man to be a good Christian he dresses like a business man. A good Christian woman dresses like June Cleaver. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not requirement to be right with God. If you are convicted by God to do so then obey God. If not, then obey God however you are dressed. Now of course men and women have to be careful with wearing things too tight, too low and showing too much. I think in any setting you have to be mindful of that, but God doesn’t have a verse that says if you dress a certain way you are guaranteed a ticket in to Heaven. God is more concerned with the fashion of your heart and mind than the clothes on your body.
The point is that God comes and changes us on the inside. His Spirit makes us alive on the inside and makes us new. Now we have the task of allowing HIm to change the way we think through His word and prayer. Change the inside and the outside will fall in line. We can change the external things, but if we aren’t right on the inside then nothing is really different at all. Change the heart and renew the mind and you are on the path to living a clean life.
That leads us to our Throwback Song of the Week. One of the CHH/urban contemporary vets out of Atlanta – Canton Jones. This is from his 2008 release “Kingdom Business.” The featured track is called “Living Clean.” Cajo I think is a good example of still being who you are and be able to live a life that glorifies God. Tune into the Trackstarz radio show this week to hear DJ Jeremaya spin this for the Throwback Song of the Day. Until next time…
Peace and blessings,
Damo
