I mentioned the other day that if I were going to pick one word to focus on in the new year, it would be “transformation”. I choose this because there are so many areas of my life that need it… change I mean. I’ve let myself get into a series of bad habits over the last few years and something needs to change.
I want to be different and the only way to do that is to start by doing things differently.
First of all, a look at God’s Word.
Where does the Bible say we should start a transformation? Romans 12:2 says we will “be transformed by the renewal of our minds.” But what are we to renew our minds with?
There are so many things in this world that could help us to renew our minds. Many claim the power of “positive thinking” or “affirmations”. They say that telling ourselves we are enough, worthy, valuable… that these things will change us, but they aren’t the way the Bible tells us to renew our mind. The Bible tells us that we should be renewing our minds with “whatever is true… honorable… just… pure… lovely… commendable.” (Philippians 4:8) It goes on to say that, “if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
The truth is that, as much as we like to think we are, we aren’t enough, worthy, or valuable in and of ourselves. It is only Christ and his redemptive work on the Cross (i.e. that he gave His live that we may be forgiven for our sins) that make us anything. We are not enough… He is! We are not worthy… He is! We are not valuable, except that He thinks we are. Most of the affirmations out there don’t fulfill the Philippians 4:8 mandate, but there are so many truths in Scripture that do and can build us up if we will set our minds on them. I saw a need for these sorts of things out on the internet (shameless plug ahead) when I created my Encouraging Words and posted about them back in November, and my Christmas version last month (post here).
God’s Word is the truth we should be renewing our minds with! Buying little cards or making your own are a tool you can use to keep those truths in front of you, but they cannot take the place of regular, daily time spent reading, memorizing, and thinking about His Word- the Bible! If we want change in our lives: weight loss, anger management, self-control; we must start by renewing our minds with God’s Word.
Confession
I’m going to admit that I haven’t been making this a priority lately. Days are busy and start without me sometimes. I miss more days than I care to admit. It can happen to anyone. When we don’t make a point to spend time reading and studying, praying and worshiping, we won’t do it. We will fall away. And our minds will be renewed by the words of the world instead. We need to make God’s Word a habit. We need to renew our minds with His Word. Every other change starts with this one!
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Gathering here.