This post is based off Romans 12:1-2. This was turned in by one of my readers as their favorite Bible verse. Congrats on your verse making it into the blog!
As mentioned above, we are focusing on Romans 12:1-2.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2
The Message
Here it talks about the ordinary, everyday life and instructs us to make it more. How do we make it more, though?
When we do all things for the glorification of God, we are making the most of what we have been given. Yes, you can glorify God when you are sleeping. Instead of thinking on unholy things as you try to fall asleep, affecting what you will be dreaming, focus on God’s beauty, the good things He has for you, etc.
What about eating? Well, you can make sure that conversations at the dinner table are good and decent. You can also go deeper by looking at what you are eating. Are you putting a bunch of junk in your body? Aren’t we called to raise up our bodies as holy sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1 NIV) and told they are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV)?
There are so many ways that you can take ordinary to extraordinary just by focusing back on God. Remember that God cares about what you are putting into your body and mind. The Bible says that what comes out of the mouth defiles you (Matthew 15:11 NIV) and that out of the heart comes evil thoughts (Matthew 15:19 NIV). Be sure to place good, God-honoring thoughts into your heart and mind so that out of your mouth comes good and right things.
I challenge you to start with at least one area of life that you are going to branch out and live extraordinarily. Maybe you’re going to try to stop cussing. Maybe you are going to give up something that you tend to eat that isn’t good for you. Maybe it is as simple as talking about your faith at work. God is there for you and wants to help you live extraordinarily.
If you are concerned about branching out, I suggest you find someone that you trust who has strong faith. Be open and honest with them, but also be willing to listen, even if they might not say exactly what you are wanting to hear. I’ve been a Christian since I was fourteen, and I still don’t always like what God has to say. That doesn’t mean that His words aren’t true and right. Trust His words.
