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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” fellow pilgrims,
I wonder if you would characterize yourself as a “Non-Conformist”, or maybe a “People Pleaser”, or a “Don’t make any Waves” type of person, or are you an “Agitator”? Probably you know some people in each of these categories, don’t you? Which type are your friends and which type irritate you?
This week we’re giving serious consideration to the matter how we can “RENEW” ourselves in this time of chaos, fear, confusing information and in some places near anarchy! On Monday, we considered the great truth of Psalm 51… that if we want to RENEW our spirits and our relationship with Jesus, we probably will need to REPENT of things in our lives that are separating us from God. Yesterday, we looked at Isaiah 40 and how we can RENEW our Strength in these difficult times.
Today, let’s look closely at Romans 12 and the important matter of how to RENEW our Minds! Honestly now, what effect has the continual deluge of bad news over the past few months had on your peace of mind and even on how you think? Listen to the Apostle Paul’s strong challenge: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the RENEWing of your Mind.“ There it is, friends. Straight talk, right to us, in this day of media spin and political mayhem. May I ask you… when you need the honest truth about something you’ve read or heard, where do you turn? What voice do you trust to always tell you the truth and nothing but the truth? In these days, almost every voice we hear is trying to turn our minds AWAY from God, God’s Truth, God’s Ways, God’s Principles, God’s Guidance, and turn us toward their agenda.
Here’s a vital question or two: How do you protect your mind from this onslaught of lies and distortion and attempted manipulation? How do you filter the information noise so you can glean important and truthful information you need to live and make wise decisions? Are you teaching your children and grandchildren to do the same? Look for a moment at Psalm 78:1-7 and Psalm 44:1-3, “We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what You did in their days long ago…” Do you have that rich heritage and are you telling your descendants what you have heard of God’s great work in the past?
Do you see Paul’s challenge to be a “Non-Conformist” when it comes to the sinful, immoral pattern of living in this world? Do you notice HOW Paul challenges us to accomplish this? “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Rom. 12:1). Now, what does Paul mean? Link this with what Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians “Flee from sexual immorality…Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:18-20) That’s very clear isn’t it? Are you and I living this, every day? It’s a choice, isn’t it…over and over again. A choice NOT to conform to the wrong all around us and a choice to live God honoring lives…every day in every situation.
“Be transformed by the renewing of your MIND. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2) What word would you use to summarize this great challenge from Paul? How about Godly DISCERNMENT? Do you have that my friends? In the noise of conflicting information, in the peer pressure of popular opinion, can your mind DISCERN what is right, what God is telling you to say or do? Look at what Paul wrote earlier to the Roman Christians in Romans 8:5-17: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their MINDs set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their MINDs set on what the Spirit of God desires. The sinful MIND is hostile to God. It refuses to submit to God’s law. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you…” (Romans 8:5-9)
It’s clear isn’t it my friends? Our minds are transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit who resides in us if we have genuinely trusted Jesus to be our Savior. This is not brain-washing, this is the work of God to clear our minds of the sinful wrong thinking which is natural with our sin nature, and transform our minds to thinking the way our minds were designed to think… holy, God honoring, as led by the Holy Spirit of God
Have you heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out”? It means our mouths speak what our minds think and thus if we fill our minds with foul junk, don’t be surprised if foul junk comes out of our mouths. However, if we fill our minds with God’s Scriptures, and God honoring worship music, and God honoring conversation with others, and we simply do not allow into our minds all the God DIS-honoring junk, then we can expect our minds will be transformed by the Spirit of God, into HOLY minds!
So here’s a final thought for today… consider how much time you spend in front of screens each day…TV, computer, tablet, cell phone. Now add the time you spend listening to radio or music or phone calls or conversation. Now. . .what percentage of all that visual and audio intake would you say is disturbing, frustrating, divisive, lustful, or in any way the evidence of Satan at work in our world?
And how much of all you see & hear is helpful in RENEWING your mind to help you be God honoring in your thinking, your choices, your conversation? Would it be wise for you to make some changes in what you allow to have access to your mind, as you seek to experience God RENEWING your mind for His glory? I challenge you to make a plan, take action, starting right now. Write down Romans 12:1&2 on a card and carry it with you for a week, reading it several times a day. Memorize it and let it guide your choices. The difference it will make in your ‘non-conforming’ life will amaze you, my friends!
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Click to read today’s chapter: Romans 12:1, 2; Romans 8. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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