Thursday, January 6, 2011

January 7, 2011

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his , pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2



It is one thing to find God's purpose and another thing to fit into it. How does that happen?



Paul addresses that question in these two verses.



The first thing to do is consecrate your ego.



What does it mean to consecrate?



"Consecrate" means to "set apart" unto God. Only God can make it sacred but only you can set it aside for Him to do so.



In this sense we are referring to ego as your sense of self-awareness, self-identity, self-worth that allows you to distinguish yourself as separate individual. In short, you could say your ego arises from an understanding of who you are. It is the essential you.





Your ego is largely formed by what the significant people in your life say about you. Since those people have either a positive or a negative bias, and since your ego is part of your fallen nature, it is not a reliable source for identifying the realities in you and around you. If you are guided by your ego you will be guided by an unrealistic view of yourself, your world, and God.
That is why Paul, the writer of Romans, strongly urges you to "set apart" your ego to God, Who is His ultimate wisdom, absolute knowledge, and unconditional love is fully aware of who you are and completely willing to accept you. In the context of His unconditional love through His Holy Spirit and through His Word, He will reveal to you who you are as He gently shapes your ego into His image.
If you want to discover your purpose you must first understand who you are as a person. You will not fully appreciate how much God will change you unless your first understand where you were when He started!
Consecrate your ego to God today. Trust it to the Truly Significant Person in your life!