Category: Stewardship

Transformation for a Purpose

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 K JV

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

The Lord was speaking to me about these verses as I was spending time with Him with my journal open earlier today, especially as it relates to the process of salvation if one recognizes the conceptual division of body, soul, and spirit. A blogging friend recently mentioned to me some thoughts she was developing along these lines. She put forth the notion that we are 100% saved, our whole being; body soul and spirit. I believe this is true. But, I would assert that it is true only in the ultimate sense because of the perfect faithfulness of God. I believe in the short term this process is more nuanced.

An earlier journal that I shared, Body, Heart, Soul and Spirit, might be useful in laying some background for what I am saying here. It has been a while since that post went live. In that writing, I highlighted the idea of our born-again spirits being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit in a protected state. I sincerely believe this is immediate at our acceptance of Christ as Savior, and irrevocable, except potentially by our own intention. (I cannot see God holding the unwilling convert hostage to his own profession of faith.) Even so, this brings to mind a passage that, it seems to me, is one of the most awesome reassurances in the Scripture.

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

If we consider the opening passage from Romans 12 followed these observations of Paul in Romans 8, I think we can say some strong things about the process of salvation of soul and body, once the spirit is redeemed. One thing we can observe is that our mind, will, and emotions (soul) are not immediately replaced at salvation. Romans 12:2 told us the mind had to be transformed and brought into subjection to the will of God. This involves some time and diligent work (2 Timothy 2:15). Most of us on this journey, on some honest introspection, can point to many wrong ideas that the Spirit, using the word of God, has faithfully relieved us of. In effect, we are participating in that process of “proving” or testing that the will of God is good and perfect by our life experience. We hope others will observe this positive change in us and want to know how to come along on the same trip.

A second observation is that Romans 12:1 talks about our bodies being presented as a living sacrifice. It seems to me that the Message translation has a lot to offer about recognizing that it is important what we do with our bodies. We are obviously commissioned to be ambassadors for Jesus while we are walking around (Matthew 28:16-20). We are better able to carry out that calling if we are behaving as good stewards of the bodies we have been given.

Further, Romans 8 has made it glaringly clear that these bodies are in peril of many kinds of danger and damage. I accept that these dangers are real, but I am in no wise fatalistic about them. David was in danger before Goliath, but he emerged victorious by the power of God. Nonetheless, we have just seen that even death cannot separate the believer from His love.

Never forget, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). We are called to continue in His leading. For sure in our own lives, and upholding our brothers and sisters in the battle also. We are commanded to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). No armor would be necessary if we were completely immune from the devil’s attacks.

A final thought. What of the one who dies soon after salvation? Would that person be stuck in an untransformed state of mind? I don’t think so. In 1 John 3:2 we find this:

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

I think the Spirit’s transforming work in our lives mostly serves the purpose of fitting us for the calling we have to carry out our commissioned work. It is not for the faint of heart. Walking around spiritually unprotected and unarmed by knowledge of the word of God (our sword, our one offensive weapon) is unwise.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1 Peter 5:8

In His Image

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

John 1:16

I am grateful to be on the receiving end of Christ’s immeasurable gift of Himself on our behalf!

Me: Good morning, Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit: Good morning, Jon!

Me: This scripture is a deep well. Other passages talking about fulness in relation to Jesus come to mind. (Thank You!)

For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

Colossians 2:9

God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Hebrews 1:1-3

Holy Spirit: These are pointing out that in Jesus, the original intent for man is perfectly manifest.

And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 1:26-27

John 1:16 spells out explicitly that in Him, all who will receive the gift of grace have that intent redeemed. Though not all have been renewed in it. Picture gifts presented, but unopened; understanding made available, but unconsidered; purpose commissioned, but unfulfilled; horizons unlimited, unseen.

Me: Help me, Holy Spirit to better fulfill my stewardship of this grace. Help me to lay down every weight that holds back, to banish every limiting lie that I have internalized!

Holy Spirit: That is precisely what I AM about. You have said that this is stewardship. That is true. See here:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:8

And here:

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

5 Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, rid yourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it— 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.

12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also. 14 In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3 (NASB)

Me: Thank You, Holy Spirit! I love You!

Holy Spirit: You are welcome! I love you!

(More) Reaping the Whirlwind

The three aerial photos above are from the same location a couple of miles NE from my humble abode. If you carefully note the topography, you can satisfy yourself that these images are the same location. The left image is from 2015, before installation of the turbine. The center picture is 2018. Note the crop disruption from recent installation activities. The rightmost image is taken in 2021. Again we have land disruption and a new blade on the ground prior to installation. I wrote before about the problem with lifetime of these turbines and their components.

This location is part of an expansive installation project by MidAmerican Energy in Mahaska County Iowa. The company has recently (2022) been trying to get clearance to put in a lot more of these. The public information program uses code words like “sustainability” and “Net Zero” . If you are one taken in by this type of rhetoric, I urge you to take a look at my previous post about the problems with these blades.

I grew up with windmills. We used them to pump water for livestock far from the availability of electricity. These are a different kind of beast. They use more resources than they ever return. We taxpayers foot the bill because our legislators are afraid to buck the climate narrative. The subsidies make them attractive to the installers. Our government is continuously cooperating with the global climate agenda, arranging for the endless spending, constant propaganda, and indoctrination of children that our world is on the precipice of disaster.

If the engineering was truly worked out, if these blades were truly recyclable as is falsely claimed, if this technology could outlive its payback (I don’t mean after the subsidies are subtracted), if it didn’t require full alternate backup, I wouldn’t quibble.

Here is a promise God made to Noah:

“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.”

Genesis 8:22

The only precipice we are hanging from, is the cliff of the hidden agenda.

Are We…

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

The story of the arrival of Covid the Cat. He was starving when he came in June of 2020. This morning he weighed in at 12.0#

Late this summer, Vander (below) showed up in the barn. We are nearly sure he is a sibling of Covid due the the apparent age and the similarity of facial markings and exactly matching colors. We don’t know if he had been fending for himself all this time, or was recently put out. He was pretty skinny. This morning, I weighed him at 12.6#.

Vander

You can’t tell in this right-side picture, but Vander has some tan tabby splotches on his back.

Subsidized Vandalism …

… of the pristine Iowa horizon.

This is a hand-held time exposure, so not the best quality photo.  All those red lights on the horizon are a warning-blink from part of a new wind farm being installed between me and the next mile over.  There are close to a hundred of them.  I’m already missing my unadulterated view.  Yesterday’s blog photo was before this blight on God’s landscape.  I freely admit that I am struggling to find a good face to put on this project.  If these machines pulled their own weight in the economy, I suppose I would find some solace in that. As it is, I have to reconcile myself to the fact that I am paying taxes that are going to blight in my own neck of the cornfield.

I have to return my focus on things above and remember that at the day of the Lord, this too will pass (2 Peter 3:10).