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So we were riding down the road in our bus the other day and I decided to get in my yearly Bible reading. No, I'm kidding, I read it at least once a month! Well, anyway, I turned to Romans 12 which starts out with some of the most powerful words ever written. "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." I continued on through verses 9-16 where Paul begins to really kick me hard. It was there that Shannon and I started our discussion. Actually, it was more like I was calling the game and he was the color commentator. I would read and he would kinda' call it as he saw it. Which in some cases is totally off, but this time he was really on! HAHA! As we continued our talk, Jason would chime in here and there.

At the end of verse 9, Paul said that we should cling to good. That actually means we should be cemented or glued to good. In this day and time I wonder (even in myself at times) if we truly want to be in a place that we have no choice but to be stuck to do that which is good at all times. I am sure that most of us, most of the time, do not have problems with doing that which is good. I do know that people, me included, will at times choose to do the wrong thing. In the end, the true beginning of fulfilling this verse in our lives starts at making the decision in our hearts and minds to do good now. Don't leave the decision to be made until the temptation of doing wrong comes! Cement and glue is not strong until it dries!

As we continue through verse 11, "the not slothful in business stuff," we all sorta' moaned, groaned and laughed! We know that we drop the ball on that at times.

Then in verse 12 Paul states that we should be patient in tribulation! My first thought is if anyone knows tribulation it's Paul!!The real thought here is that the word tribulation (which is derived from the word tribulum) as used in this passage refers to the beating of, or crushing of impurities out of wheat. This was most often accomplished by rolling a log over the wheat or beating it! Sort of like taking a rug and beating the dirt out of it! Many of us seem to look at tribulations as a bad thing, not a good thing from God. How could something that hurts be good for us? How could something perceived as bad really be helpful to us?I know that is the first question in my mind, but I think we all know the answer. As burning off dross will purify gold, beating a piece of steel makes a sword stronger or pruning a plant will help it produce better and more fruit, so are tribulations in our life. We must learn to be patient, knowing that God wants to help us not hurt us, as Jeremiah 29:11 states! If we try to force the issue in tribulations, then we are going to have to go through them again. Huh, is that really a bad thing though? Most of the time it's not what's going on in our life that is the test, the true test is how we will respond!!

That thought actually got us into verse 13; "Distributing to the necessity of the saints; given to hospitality."My thought is this. If everyone served each other, as a slave would, one to another, then all the needs of the church body, as well as the gospel would be spread through servitude. I know that I am opening a can of worms with the, "serving as a slave thing," but listen to my reasoning. I did not say that we should treat each other like slaves, making people wait on us hand and foot; I said we should be a slave to our brother. A slave does not have the right to do what they want, when they want, they only serve! They listen to who owns them and do the owners work! We have been bought with a price! People will know us by how we treat them and how we treat each other! What a lost concept! It is not about what can I get, but rather how can I serve! Do not expect all of the sudden, to be a servant or to have a servant's heart, you must practice it and God will help it grow.

Now, I would like to speak directly to the artist and Christian industry personnel that might be reading this article. When we go to a place to sing or promote our business/ministry, we are not there to be served, we are there to serve. We are to be a representative of Jesus, who of course is the ultimate servant! The interesting thing is that when we serve people, they often want to reciprocate by blessing us or our ministry with gifts or acts of service.But there is a big difference between receiving the blessings that people offer us and us expecting to be treated like a star.It is great to have your needs (and even wants) met, but it is completely out of character for a Christian (one who is like Christ) to demand that they be met!This doesn't mean we can't have contracts to state what is necessary for us to present our message and ourselves effectively, but it does mean that we are still there to serve Jesus and His people - not ourselves.After all, we are ultimately trying to present Him effectively and sometimes He shows up best when we are at our weakest!

This applies even if you are an artist who doesn't consider yourself to be a minister (in a vocational sense).Even if you are singing in "secular" venues or you just consider yourself to be providing good, family entertainment, you are still a believer and if you as an artist were to approach people as a servant and representative of Jesus in those venues He would certainly stand out from the crowd.

My last thoughts are this; verse 14 shows how we should treat those that mistreat us.
Simply put, "bless them."

Verses 15 and 16 are a necessity if we are to press forward together. They say take interest in the prosperity and well being of others. Be in tune with each other and have your life filled with godly people. Do not" kiss up" to people that you consider to be great and guard against vanity.

I just want to encourage all of us to continue to present our bodies to God in a holy and acceptable way - the way verses 9-16 call us to live.This is the best way we can worship God.

Jeremie Hudson for The Imperials
http://www.theimperialsonline.com

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