I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect…Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord. Rom. 12:1-2, 11
Dear saints, let us pray that those who follow the Lord to be job-dropping full-timers would serve with their whole being — their body presented, their mind renewed, and their spirit burning (Rom. 12:1-2, 11).
In the church in Los Angeles there are brothers and sisters from many different races. In such a church the minds of the saints must be renewed in order to avoid conflict. I am thankful that the situation in Los Angeles is marvelous and that the meetings are truly beautiful. This situation could not be achieved even through the United Nations, because the church is more than a “United Nations.” We do not need to be united; we are simply one. We are one in the spirit. Furthermore, we need to be transformed by being renewed in our mind with the mind of Christ.
If we have presented our body and are renewed in our mind, we still need to be burning in spirit. We can use a steam locomotive as an illustration. A train may be at a station and its passengers can be properly seated, but the train conductor needs to fire up the boiler in the locomotive in order for the train to move forward. After we have presented our body and have been renewed and transformed in our mind, we still need to be burning in spirit. When we are burning in spirit, our entire being will move. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 3, “Taking Christ as Our Person for the Church Life,” ch. 12)
More details via Beseeching.org, day 425.
