” 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
That, by far, has become a very important verse in my life since my family and I arrived here at Bethesda. I read it often, sometimes when I wake up in the morning and sometimes when I got to sleep at night. Whenever I read it, the same message jumps out at me…that God wants me to dedicate my life to him as a living sacrifice.
A terrifying and exhilarating feeling.
Ever since my family and I felt God’s calling to move to Bethesda as the new host family God has wanted to become even better friends with me. He surrounded me with the opportunities so that we could spend some more alone time with one another: kilometres of walking trails, acres of property, different buildings on the property to name a few. Then my choice came into the equation, was I willing to read my Bible everyday? take walks and talk to God? do my work to glorify His name? Bottom line, was I willing to chill out with Him? I decided to make that dedication to God, and I am sure glad I did.
My life has been transformed! Literally! My spiritual and my physical muscles have been strengthened and built up. Also, it is not a chore to spend time with God in prayer or meditation, it is a normal part of my daily routine! I truly love this place, the feeling of God here! Our dear adopted doggy Sascha (or as we call her Saschi), and my friends love this place as well!
It all started by following God’s voice, His calling to come to Bethesda to live here. Now I pray and hope I can follow His will, like young Timothy did in the Bible. This verse in 1 Timothy 6 is very encouraging in my life as well: “…Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to….”
Josiah
