Be renewed in the Word 4-6-15


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Be renewed in the Word 4-6-15
                            
Are you stuck in the same place you were in when you first believed? Or have you grown in the Lord? Are you closer to becoming the person whom you want to be or the one whom God wants you to become? How do we even do such a thing?
God’s Word tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, but how can we even do that if our Bible sits on the shelf from Monday to Saturday?  It’s time to get out the Bible, the Word of God and get your self some renewed thinking!

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. Romans 12:1

To transform our worldly thoughts that we came to Him with in the beginning of our walk with Christ we have to clean out the things we allow ourselves to think on. It is often a sacrificial act to give up things we invested our time doing before we made our hearts right with God. From the very moment that we chose to believe we opened up our heart and our mind to a new way of thinking. Instead of thinking the worst of our selves, we think more positive right? 

No, not always. Sometimes we have to realize we have failed to be what God wants us to be, that we have followed the designs of the world even I our Christian walk. It is easy to get caught up in the way the world thinks a Christian should be; acting as if we are perfect in every way but really feeling pain inside at the things that are not going the way we thought it would be when we accepted Him as our Lord.  The television tries to tell us how God would have us behave as if we were already ‘there’ and perfected in the Lord. This is not so, we are a work in action, not only a work in progress. We are being transformed as we renew our stinking thinking and replace it with the proper thoughts gained only from reading the Word of God as often as we can.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

It is the only way to know, really know what that perfect will of God is.

Because of the privilege and authority. God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Romans 12:3-5

It is so easy to think that we are who God sees us as already, but He sees us through eyes of unconditional love. We need to die to ourselves daily and work hard to work together to get our whole body in shape. When we need to loose weight or get healthy in the physical body we work on it, we change how we eat, think, and what we do. Why not when our spiritual body needs renewing? We need to change what we do.   


If we think we have arrived we need to challenge ourselves to live an even higher level of Christ likeness. We need to ding into the Word and hold it up to our hearts and minds and find out what else we can purge from our lifestyle that causes us to stumble and binge on the world again. We need to work all the body, not just ourselves but work with fellow Christians to learn, grown and strengthen our spiritual body to become the men and women whom He wants us to be. That is why we have Bible studies, and devotional books, and Life Groups or Cell groups; to become thoroughly equipped.
 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.  Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
But that isn't what you learned about Christ.  Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:17-24
When we take the time to study the Word, alone and together with those God has put in our lives to glean from the Word with the we can truly throw off that old stinking thinking, we can truly be renewed in Christ continually dropping more and more of our worldly thinking and transforming into the women and men of God that He intends for us to be. That does not mean we will suddenly be perfected; but we will know the heart of Jesus and find in Him that perfect rest that will keep us at peace even in the midst of trials.
He will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. Isaiah 26:3
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to get rid of the desires of the world and focus on You and Your plans for our lives. Help us to renew our minds in the Bible and get rid of wrong ideas and thoughts of how our lives should be perfect now. Direct our paths as we trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Suggested Reading: Ephesians 4:1-21, Psalm 33:1-22, 1 John 3:1-24, Romans 12:1-21