Psalm 40:8 says, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." The law of God = the will of God. Nowadays, our hearts and minds are filled with stuff. Stuff that are no helpful to our Christian walk. To have a spirit-filled life, we need to have the word of God in our hearts and minds. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." [Romans 8:6-8] The definition of this "carnal mind" is a worldly set of mind where the law of God cannot be found. If we want the law of God to be found in us, then, we need to know what His will is. There is only one place on earth where we can find His will, the Bible.

Generally, there are two reasons why we study the Bible. "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. And 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." [Romans 12:1-2]

First, we have to know what it means to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. As Hannah offered her son, Samuel, to God (to be used for His will) we need to have that kind of mind set about our lives, future, possession, and everything else. Friends, I mean everything. No, God means EVERYTHING. However, it does not mean go and sacrifice your body into the burning fire. It solely means to live a continual sanctified life, experiencing dying of self. Sacrificing your desires, wants, thoughts, and ways to follow God is the true sacrifice for the Lord. I will tell you what the "living sacrifice" means in further detail in later paragraph.

Second, we have to learn not to conform to this world. We have to be different from the non-believers; we cannot chase after worldly desires such as fame and wealth but have a Christian mind set and characters as written in the Bible. What does it mean to have a Christain mind and characters? Answer: study the Bible.

Thus, to know God's will, we have to be experts in the Bible. Isn't it pastors'/priests'/etcs' job? No! It's everybody's job! In order to DO His will, we have to study for ourselves and grow by the word of God. [1 Peter 2:2] That's how our faith grows! [Romans 10:17] We cannot be stuck in the same faith yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Friends, as Christians, we need to be willing to study His word to help our Christian walk. Our growth in faith does not come from self-satisfying feelings; it comes from continual study of word of God and abiding in it.

The "living sacrifice", in Romans 12:1, is not talking about literal human sacrifice. It means that we have to live day by day, sacrificing our sinful desires. It is so easy for a person to die. It is easy to sin. That is why we should be the living sacrifices! Although there are tribulations and hardships (in a Christian walk), we still have to live by word of God and submit ourselves entirely to the Lord. Christian wallk is not easy, my friends. That is why we have to study the word of God. But remember to read Bible day by day, not just when you are going through trials and afflictions. Lastly, don't forget to have a prepared heart always before you study the Bible, just like Ezra. [Ezra 7:10]