“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us!”
—AW Towzer, Knowledge of the Holy
The Call: Be A Living Sacrifice
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. —Romans 12:1
“Offer yourself as a living sacrifice -take your hands off your life. It’s the only reasonable thing to do. How can you come to grips with someone who gave himself utterly for you without you giving yourself utterly to him. It’s the only reasonable way to respond. To not do so is not just a violation of the moral sense, it’s a crucifixion of the intelligence. It is as stupid as it is wicked. He took his hands off his life and he fell into nothingness. You take your hands off your life and you will just fall into his. And he’s the only master that won’t consume you. It’s the only alter that will give you life and not kill you.” —John Gerstner
The Call: To Be Transformed By The Renewal Of Our Minds
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. —Romans 12:2
“Temptation was slapping me around like a weightless doll in the hands of an imaginative child. Being tossed between fun and funeral, who would I decide to trust more? What temptation wanted me to believe or what God had already revealed?
…To give in to temptation would be to give into unbelief. To decide that the body mattered more than God, or that the pleasure of sin would sustain all that I am better than He. It was incredible how real and tangible and persistent they could be, but their power was an illusion. Jesus had already proven that the temptation could be defeated, and he already promised to help me when I came to his throne of grace for it. It was up to me to believe him. His Word was authoritative, active, sharp. In it, God spoke and showed us what He was like, how much better he was than anything that had been made, how eligible He was to be our joy, our peace, our portion, how trusting Him, even if a little at a time, would move mountains - the biggest one, being me. These scriptures were a weapon, a sword, that when used would defeat the flesh. My faith in them would be a shield, that when placed in front of the body would distinguish all satanic attacks come towards it. —Jackie Hill Perry, Gay Girl, Good God
[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
—2 Timothy 3:16-17