Proper 16 (21)
August 24, 2008
Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20
Lots of good stuff here today. The Exodus account reminds us of Moses’ beginnings. The psalmist reminds us what would happen if God was not on our side. The Romans passage is one of my favorites and in Matthew’s gospel we find Peter declaring that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. I guess I’ll choose Romans today
1 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. 2 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.
3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
What a great reminder for us to be devoted to God — to give our lives to Him. I like when it says that by giving our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, it is the true way to worship Him. While at FLAME, I had a little conversation with a student. We were talking on the subject of worship. She was disappointed that so many put an unhealthy emphasis on music as worship. I will admit that, for me, music is a powerful way to connect with God. Because of this, I need to be careful that I don’t equate worship with music. Our morning prayer meetings at church have been a great way to de-emphasize music as worship. When we are living our lives for God, we are truly worshiping Him.
I love how it tells us how to do this in verses 6-8. God has gifted us each with certain abilities. Whatever God has gifted you with, do it to the best of your ability. That is truly the way to worship God.
