WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?

There are many believers who have trouble knowing what to do in their Christian lives.
They have a burning desire to live for Christ but don’t know how to in this ever changing and sinful world of ours.
Before elaborating on this, it may be worth considering the Old and New.
What I mean by this is that before coming to Christ we were in the Devil’s camp.
Without a shadow of doubt, Satan had us in his grip.
Our thoughts, our behaviour and our actions toward those around us were definitely not what God wanted for us.

Our Old life consisted of ignoring God and the Salvation He offered through Jesus Christ.
By contrast, our New Life is completely different. We now have a real and personal relationship with God. Our hearts and minds have been awakened by the Holy Spirit. We are a new person!
Old things have been put aside and all things now become new.

I have deliberately chosen Romans Chapter 12, simply because to my mind, it is one of the clearest and most concise portions of Scripture that deals with:
How a Christian should ACT
How a Christian should BEHAVE
How a Christian should TREAT OTHERS
What a Christian should DWELL ON

There are 21 verses in this Chapter and I have taken the liberty of listing a few of the things we should be doing, together with things we should not be doing, and it is my prayer that these few thoughts will be of some help and encouragement to you.
The first two verses introduce us to what God requires from us.
Please open your Bibles and read the whole Chapter for a clearer picture.
I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2

v1 – We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices acceptable to God.
It is God who has transformed us and declared us righteous.
The mercies that have been shown to us when all we were good for was condemnation, compel us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Total commitment is our reasonable service, because if Jesus died for me then the very least I can do for Him is live for Him.

v2 – Don’t be conformed to this world.
The world hated Jesus so much they crucified Him.
Even today – the world will have nothing to do with Him.
So we should have nothing to do with the world – by that I mean, the world spoken of here is the system or the society man has invented in order to make him happy without God.
Take God out of the picture and you are left with nothing. Someone said to me the other day that the lifestyles some people are living nowadays make him sick!
We should never forget that Christ died to deliver us from this world, so we should make it our business to be separated from it.
We are to transform and renew our minds and we do this by feeding on His precious Word day by day and receiving guidance from God Himself.
Make it a rule for yourself not, under any circumstances, to visit places where you know Jesus will be mocked and His Holy name used as a swear word, this also applies to TV programmes.
Don’t watch them! Don’t read books with unsuitable content, because if you do, you will continue to pollute and taint your mind, and then you’ll wonder why God is not answering your prayers.

v3 – We are not to think of ourselves as superior to others.
We should not have puffed up ideas of self-importance.
God has given each and every one of us gifts and talents and we are to use them to bring glory to Him only.
Reading further on in Romans 12:4-6, we discover that the Body of Christ (Believers) are made up of different parts, just as the human body is, each with its own unique purpose.
Believers have different roles to play and have different gifts and skills, given to each and every one of us by God.
We are to exercise these gifts accordingly remembering that no gift is unnecessary!
All our talents have their place just as believers do within the Body of Christ, and we are responsible for using them for the good of others, and not just ourselves.

In v7 – we learn of Ministry and Teaching
These are gifts which are vital to the spread of the Gospel.
Those who have the gift of ministry are servants and should seize opportunities to serve others
Those who have the gift of teaching, are to exercise this gift by imparting knowledge and explaining the Scriptures to those who are in need.
It is at this point we must stop and consider the sad fact that the number of servants is dwindling because most would like to be served rather than serve, which is the opposite of what God commands.
Our example is Jesus, if ever there was someone who should have been served day and night, it was Him, and yet He humbled Himself and became a servant for us!
We must not forget that there are many blessings to be had from serving others.

v8 – Exhortation
Exhortation applies to those who are able to stir up believers and encourage them in the faith.
It applies to those who discover joy and fulfilment in counselling and helping others and urging them to live for Christ.
It applies to those who are happy and joyful and who show kindness and sympathy in all situations.
It is very easy to become discouraged by modern day living and the pressures that go with it and those who can inspire others to press on toward greater blessings from Christ are needed.
Other words used in this verse are diligence, showing mercy and cheerfulness, all of which are attributes of those who have been saved by the Love of Jesus and who wish for others to share in the joy of knowing the Saviour.

v10–v11- Kindness and Affection
Here we are told to be kind and affectionate to one another, putting others first rather than promoting ourselves.

v12 – Hope
Here we are to rejoice in hope.
What a contrast this is when we live in a world in which there is no hope without Jesus Christ.
We are to be patient and continue in prayer.
Patience and prayer go together so well, because often we do not receive answers to prayer when we would like them, in fact I know of people who have been praying for years and have not yet had an answer.
Believers are not immune to trials and tribulations, it is the way we handle them that separates us from the rest of the world.
We must also be aware that no answer from God – is an answer!
Prayer brings power to our lives and peace to our hearts.
Where else would you get that in this world?

v13 – Giving
Here the subject of giving comes up.
Given to hospitality – being friendly, warm, understanding and generous. By doing so we soon learn that giving takes time and effort.
Giving of your time to be a friend to someone who is lonely takes time and determination, not forgetting that there are many who need physical and financial support.
There are many who need help, such as forgotten missionaries and older people who have had to sit and watch their life savings dwindle before their eyes.
Who is going to help?
If we as believers don’t, what hope is there?
Thinking of others and not just of ourselves, is the lesson here.

v14 – 19 – Enemies
Here the subject of enemies comes up, and as we all know, there are those who don’t like us and those who we don’t get along with.
How do we handle them?
God tells us to bless those who persecute and torment us.
Without the love of Christ in our lives, we could never openly and honestly bless those who annoy us.
We are to rejoice with those who rejoice, and we are to weep with those who weep.
The tendency to become jealous when others are happy must be stamped on good and hard, and when we come across those who are hurting, we must never pass on by and leave them to their sorrows.
We are to join in their joys and suffer with them who suffer.
We are not to reward evil for evil or wrong doing by another wrong doing.
It is so easy to retaliate and lash out to those who have wronged us.
We are to live in peace with everyone.
God says – Vengeance is mine, I will repay, not you, leave it to me.

v20 – 21 – As if to cement in our minds what God has told us in this chapter, these verses tell us to do what could only be considered impossible under normal circumstances.

If your enemy is hungry – feed him!
If your enemy is thirsty – give him something to drink!
Be not overcome with evil.
Overcome evil with good.
All men and women are sinners.

We must always remember that Sin is what separates us from God.
It was Jesus who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world so that we could be reconciled back to God, and whoever puts their complete trust in Him will be saved.
Having done so God expects all of us to live a righteous, clean and holy lives that brings honour and glory to Him.
Inward changes brought about by obedience to God’s will, brings corresponding fruits – Never the other way around!
Whatever is true about your heart will show up in your actions.
Never forget that faithfulness in the little things brings greater blessings and greater tasks from God.