Dear Friends,
I’ve probably read Romans 12:2 hundreds of times, but I’m not sure I ever stopped to take a deep look into what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Sure, I knew he was talking about thinking like a Christian …, but what does that look like and how does one go about renewing their mind? This morning my best friend Rand introduced me to a newer thought-by-thought translation of the Bible that helped me come a bit closer to understanding this verse.
Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. Romans 12:2 The Passion Translation (TPT)
The apostle Paul was writing to the church in the First century, but his warning against imitating the culture around you is just as relevant today. Take Hollywood, for instance. When I was in high school, the Motion Picture Association of America saw that Congress was considering legislation to control the content of films. As a preemptive measure, the association introduced the MPAA rating system to help parents decide which films would be appropriate for their children.
Rated G: General Audiences – all ages admitted
Rated PG: Parental Guidance Suggested – May not be suitable for children
Rated PG-13: Parents Strongly Cautioned – May be inappropriate for children under 13
Rated R: Restricted – under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Rated NC-17: No one 17 and under admitted
Do you think films rated PG-13, R, or NC 17 help the Holy Spirit with the reformation of how we or our children think?
Then, there are the ideals and opinions we get from our political leaders. Recently I read an article about how change is introduced to the masses. The author theorized that in a majority, a relatively small number of individuals have strong convictions and the power to champion an issue. To get the majority opinion to change, all an advocate needs do is sway the thinking of the opinion leaders. We have seen this at work in the way many of our nation’s moral standards have been eroded by the infiltration of our schools, the entertainment industry, the news organizations, and even some churches. Things Christians of thirty years ago would have considered an anathema, we now see sanctioned in legislation.
In the computer industry there is an expression GIGO: Garbage in, Garbage out. In renewing our minds, our goal must be to do all we can to block the garbage that we know conflicts with God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. I turn to the book of Philippians for thoughts on how we can do this.
Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ. So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always. Philippians 4:6-8 (TPT)
Renewing our minds also involves getting rid of what is often called “Stinking thinking.” Those negative, condemning thoughts that can slip into our minds are part of Satan’s effort to keep us from knowing the joy that is found in a relationship with Christ. The devil wants to keep our focus on the past instead of on what we are becoming. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
The Holy Spirit is working in you to bring about a complete metamorphosis. That worldly chrysalis you once were is changing into a creature of butterfly-like beauty.
Enjoy the new you.
Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 