June 2 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Romans 12:

¹I 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.
²And 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.
³For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
⁴For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
⁵So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
⁷Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
⁸Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
⁹Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
¹⁰Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
¹¹Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
¹²Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
¹³Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
¹⁴Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
¹⁵Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
¹⁷Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
¹⁸If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
¹⁹Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
²⁰Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
²¹Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Devotional

No one is able to live according to the Word of God, unless he is transformed by the Spirit of God, nor does he want to. It is God that makes us heartily willing and ready to live unto him. Where the Spirit of God reigns sin cannot reign; it shall not have dominion over us. The Spirit will work a change in us. We are transformed by looking unto Jesus, the Author and Fin­isher of faith. And we, as we with open face behold his glory, "are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Note well: It is not we that work this change, but the Spirit of God. It is He that causes us not to "yield our members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield ourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Thus we "present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept­able unto God, which is our reasonable service." And He that "hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." For He "did predestinate us to be conformed to the image of his Son." Transformed and thus conformed to his image. "We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Transformed by Thy Spirit
   And fully renewed
Cause us to serve Thee
   By Thy grace endewed.

Prayer

Gracious Lord and Father, we confess that we in our­selves are totally unapt to any good and prone to all evil. We pray, work Thou in us by Thy good pleasure both to will and to do; that Thy name through us may not be blasphemed but honored and glorified. Amen.

---

Scripture in Devotional: Heb. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 6:13; 12:1; Phil. 1:6; Rom. 8:29; 1 John 3:2.

Click here for background on Light and Comfort and the author.