August 29, 2017 BE TRANSFORMED
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
At any given moment, our thoughts originate either from a mind that is renewed, or mind that has not been renewed. Everyone understands the power of the mind and how important it is to have right thinking. There is more than ample information and motivation on being ‘positive’ in our thinking. It is true that one who does not even know God will enjoy a better life if he or she has a positive mind-set. However, for the believer, tt is indeed a great miracle that God has chosen to allow us the opportunity to have our mind, not improved, but totally transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit in order that we may actually think like God thinks! (1 Corinthians 2:16) Most believers know that we are to ‘renew’ our minds, but perhaps the ‘how to’ is not understood. Personally, I have understood that renewing my mind meant getting rid of wrong thoughts when they come, and substituting the thoughts God would have me think. There is truth in that understanding, however, I am realizing that there is more to grasp when it comes to being transformed in our thinking. Recently I have been on rather long trips alone, and while driving, I put to use a blue tooth speaker and was blessed with hours of worship and praise music. As I saturated my mind and my spirit with this worship and praise music for many miles, I could sense a transformation taking place in my mind. Simply put, I felt that I began to see life as God sees it-and I was blessed. The point is, that part of the process of renewing of our minds is taking extended times when we turn our worship and praise to Him and as we do, we will experience the renewing of our mind. God welcomes and enjoys our talking to Him and worshiping Him, and He enjoys revealing Himself to us. The renewing of our mind does not happen automatically; we are instructed to renew our minds, but we are not left alone in the pro, the Holy Spirit has been given to make it possible. As said above, it is a fantastic miracle that a mere human being who has put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ, can think like God thinks! The world in which you and I live desperately needs to have contact with those who think like God-and that’s you and I. Let us remember that our mind is not renewed on its own; the renewal process involves the reading and meditating on scripture, worshiping and giving praise to God, and being quick to obey the commands of God. Starting now, let us live with a renewed mind-the Holy Spirit will make it possible.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, and if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise-think on these things.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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