I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2, ESV)
Transformations, more often than not, are exceedingly difficult. The story of Bryson DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open Champion, is a perfect case study!
AI reports: Bryson DeChambeau underwent a significant physical transformation, gaining approximately 40 pounds of muscle through a combination of strength training, a high-protein, low-carb diet, and a focus on Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT).
Although he has since reversed course and returned to a slimmer version of himself, the motivation that drove his efforts to ‘bulk up’ is no secret—increase club head speed, which led to increased ball speed and, therefore, increased length, prodigious length at that!
If you’ve played Bay Hill, Arnie’s course, you’ll remember number six—a par five that measures 555 yards, with bunkers strategically placed on the right and water left from tee to green—played conventionally.
We all remember when Bryson took “dead aim” and carried it across the lake to the right of the green. After all was said and done, he had launched that dimpled, spherical object around 370 yards. Extraordinary!
It’s amazing what can happen when we are genuinely motivated. When we strongly want something, we are driven to adopt new habits to reach higher and farther.
In today’s video, Hollis Sullivan recounts a close call with a tornado that got his attention—for him and his wife, Donna, that moment served as a wake-up call. Their loves were reordered after that life-altering moment. If you like a good story, you’ll love this one.
When asked how they first fell in love with this game, many golfers’ stories almost always start with the ‘dog days of summer.’
Mom or Dad would drop us off at the course at 8:00 am and pick us up in time for dinner. There was never enough sunlight to finish, and in our love of golf, we barely noticed the heat!
Loving something deeply transforms our outlook and fuels our dedication. Remove the love, and you lose the drive. Intensify the passion, and the energy to succeed escalates.
So, where do we find the kind of motivating love that will compel us to live for Christ in a culture that is embarrassed at the mention of his name?
Trusting Scripture and two thousand years of theological insight, we learn it does not originate in us. So, where will we find it?
In today’s verse, we often overlook the fact that Paul begins with “therefore.” That means he is about to present the conclusion of his argument.
Before these two verses, Paul spent eleven chapters developing a detailed argument for God’s transcendent holiness, exposing our rebellion, and showcasing the greatness of God’s grace toward us in Christ Jesus.
When he exhorts us to reject ‘conformity to the world’ [the world system and what it values], and to embrace ‘transformation by the renewal of our minds,’ he grounds it in “sacrificial worship.” And he roots our sacrificial worship in “the mercies of God.”
When the Spirit opens a person’s eyes to mercy (not getting what we deserve) and grace (getting what we don’t deserve), our hearts are melted by God’s love for us.
We worship God because we love him, and we love him only because he first loved us by sending Jesus on the ultimate rescue mission and placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts. In short, experiencing God’s love in Christ enables us to express that love back to him through worship.
It is true that worshiping with other believers every ‘one-in-seven’ [Sunday] should be the highlight of our week. Still, it is also true that the other six days provide platforms for worship, even when standing over a 3-foot putt.
When we taste mercy, all of life becomes one enormous expression of worship!
Prayer: Jesus! Ruin the cheap thrills of a world gone mad by causing us to taste your mercy again and again.