CONFORMITY AND THE PLAN

CONFORMITY AND THE PLAN

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Romans [ESV] 12:1-3 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

  In understanding the question of deliverance we must accept first of all that ours is to serve Him all our days, not the other way around. We are created for His reasons, not ours. This is not to say that God does not care about each and every one of us, for He does most assuredly. (2Pet.3:8-9)

  Can He deliver us eternally? Yes.

·         John 3:16

·         Mark 13:27

  Can He deliver us in all other situations? Yes, but not necessarily. A few representative examples:

·         Non-compliance on our part. James 4:1-10; 1Peter 5:1-11

·         Matthew 5:45 (Abundance of fresh water, bountiful crops, and Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico.)

·         A lesson in His grace and our place of service. 2Corinthians 12:1-10

·         Compliance to Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as in heaven.” God’s only begotten Son, Jesus, exemplified this in life and Gethsemane as His earthly ministry was closing (Mt.26:39).

  And then we see examples of deliverance and non-deliverance according to God’s will.

·         Hebrews 11:1-40

·         In the cruel sweep of the Holocaust a Corrie ten Boom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrie_ten_Boom

  Life is not all about “Me, myself, and I”. (Thanks to Grandmother Ida Mae McGee for planting this oft repeated phrased lesson that finally came to fruition “in Christ”.) As followers of Lord Jesus Christ ours is to think and act accordingly; seeking, discovering, and applying His will above all else. (Mt.16:24; Mk.8:34; Lk.9:23; 14:26-27)

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