JMD Devotional 237 Romans 12:1,2 Semi-Autonomous People
I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
The Mars rovers have proven to be fantastic machines that have continued to function long beyond their ‘two-month’ mission. Communication with the Earth is not constant nor is it in real-time; as it takes about 8 minutes for a command to span the distance. Sometimes dust storms block the radio signal; there are many interruptions. If these rovers were just ‘dumb remote-controlled toys’, they would run over cliffs, crash into boulders or get flipped on their back like a helpless turtle; but they are not. They are semi-autonomous robots, meaning that they have the internal smarts to avoid damaging moves and to make routine decisions but they also answer to commands from mission control. Mission control sets the overall vision and direction, plans the next destination, but the rover responds to its terrain and works out its own way to get there. Christians are not micro-managed by God. He has given us the internal smarts and expects us to use them in accordance with His program and guidance. Our success is never a threat to Him; rather He rejoices in our doing well in difficult circumstances. We may not know why we are rolling around in the desert; but we do know that God values our perseverance and that He has an important purpose for our lives. We participate in that divine mission through a combination of internal routines (choices) and divine input.
Dear God,
Thank You for not making me a puppet or a mindless android. I appreciate that I can live and breathe and feel and make millions of decisions for myself. I acknowledge that You reserve for Yourself the right to define morality for me, and to express Your will through me. Help me to keep on track, to be on mission for Christ, and help me to creatively execute Your commands as I participate in Your plan. May my success reflect well on heeding Your guidance.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
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http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
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http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
The Mars rovers have proven to be fantastic machines that have continued to function long beyond their ‘two-month’ mission. Communication with the Earth is not constant nor is it in real-time; as it takes about 8 minutes for a command to span the distance. Sometimes dust storms block the radio signal; there are many interruptions. If these rovers were just ‘dumb remote-controlled toys’, they would run over cliffs, crash into boulders or get flipped on their back like a helpless turtle; but they are not. They are semi-autonomous robots, meaning that they have the internal smarts to avoid damaging moves and to make routine decisions but they also answer to commands from mission control. Mission control sets the overall vision and direction, plans the next destination, but the rover responds to its terrain and works out its own way to get there. Christians are not micro-managed by God. He has given us the internal smarts and expects us to use them in accordance with His program and guidance. Our success is never a threat to Him; rather He rejoices in our doing well in difficult circumstances. We may not know why we are rolling around in the desert; but we do know that God values our perseverance and that He has an important purpose for our lives. We participate in that divine mission through a combination of internal routines (choices) and divine input.
Dear God,
Thank You for not making me a puppet or a mindless android. I appreciate that I can live and breathe and feel and make millions of decisions for myself. I acknowledge that You reserve for Yourself the right to define morality for me, and to express Your will through me. Help me to keep on track, to be on mission for Christ, and help me to creatively execute Your commands as I participate in Your plan. May my success reflect well on heeding Your guidance.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
Labels: addiction, Christian, devotional, faithfulness, integrity, purity, recovery
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 5:27 PM
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