Tag: mind

A Living Sacrifice

Old Testament Reading:  Deuteronomy 32

Poetry Reading:  Psalm 42

*New Testament Reading:  Romans 12

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”   -Romans 12:2a (ESV)

Pleeeeease!  Can you hear a child begging their parents for something.  Maybe for a treat, or a toy, or to stay up later? 

Romans 12 begins with Paul begging us to follow his advice.  Different versions use appeal, request, plead, urge, or beseech.  These words all tell us one thing:  that it is our choice.

So, who is Paul begging and what is he asking of them?   He is speaking to his brothers in Christ, and that includes all Christians then and now.  He is asking us to live a life worthy of claiming the name of Jesus Christ.  He asks us to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”.  Then he tells us this is our “spiritual worship”, or our “spiritual service of worship”, or our “true and proper worship”, or our “reasonable service”.  In other words, it is reasonable for us to live as God desires us to because He has done so much for us (“by the mercies of God…”).  True worship involves all of us – our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27). 

One of my frequently used phrases is, “What does that look like?”.    Well, fortunately, Paul tells us in the very next verse, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”.  Conform means to be in agreement with, or to adopt the form of those around you.  Transform means to change in character or to change the appearance of.   Both are verbs – action words.  Both of them require us to change.  This is what Paul is pleading with us about – we will either be conformed by the world or we will be transformed to be holy and acceptable to God.  Our world was created perfect but sin corrupted it.  Until Jesus returns to restore it to perfection, we must live in it.  We are warned several times in Scripture not to love the world, become like the world, think like the world. 

It sounds like an easy choice, and it is.  The hard part is choosing it every minute of every day.  Choosing to live it with our whole body – heart, soul, strength, and mind.  Every time we make a choice about our attitudes, actions, words, thoughts, etc.  This requires humility and being humble requires us to let go of our pride, arrogance, and egos.  Not so easy. 

Paul then goes on to warn us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought.  Sounds like more humility. 

This chapter is full of godly advice; here are just some pieces of that advice.  Believe God has given you a gift, figure out what yours is, use it.  A healthy body (church) needs every member to be using their gifts.  Genuinely love one another.  Be constant in prayer.  Hate evil.  Contribute to the needs of the body.  Show hospitality.  Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be haughty.  If possible, live peaceably with all.  Never avenge yourself. 

Chapter 12 concludes with this, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”.  This brings us full circle.  The world is evil; if we are conformed to the world, we will be overcome by evil.  If we choose to be transformed, we will be able to overcome evil with good. 

Amy Blanchard


Reflection Questions

  1. What of the world draws you toward conforming?  Maybe it’s always wanting your way, viewing yourself as right all the time, or not determining what is evil so you can detest it.  Maybe it’s good things like family, showing hospitality, or volunteering.  Be aware of what messages are out there trying to turn your attention away from God.  Family, showing hospitality, and volunteering are good; but the place you give them shouldn’t be ahead of God.
  2. Transformation begins in your mind.  Paul says that it happens by the renewal of our minds.  What changes do you need to make to renew your mind?  It is our will to make the choice to be transformed, but God does the transforming.  We need to humble ourselves and let Him.  We are told that then we will be able to know God’s will.                
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Worship God with your Mind

Philippians 4 6

Free theme week: Worship

Chapter reading for the day: Philippians 4

 

The mind is incredibly powerful. Because the mind is powerful and directly affects how we live our life and how we think about ourself, setting our mind on God is of paramount importance. If Satan and dark spiritual forces can win over your mind and have you believe their “truth” then they control you. We see this when Jesus was led into the wilderness and then was tempted by Satan. Satan questioned Jesus’ identity twice trying to get Jesus to believe that he was not who God said he was. Satan was attacking the mind of Jesus. But Jesus had a strong mind that was set upon God and his promises and did not fall for Satan attacks. Worshipping God with our mind is essential if we want to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy. Today we’ll look at one way that we can love and worship God with our mind.

The definition of anxiety is a being in a state of apprehension, uneasiness, or nervousness. Anxiety wrecks the mind and bombards it with endless “what if’s”. All of us have experienced anxiety at one time or another. There are many situations that we can become anxious about including our relationship with God. If left unchecked anxiety can consume a person and drastically affect their relationship with God and Jesus. When this happens the person and their mind is living in a state of “non-worship”. In Philippians 4.6-8 God reveals to us the remedy of anxiousness:

“6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication make your requests made known to God. 7 And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Philippians 4.6-8 is a call to worship God with our mind. To set our mind on God and Jesus and not dwell or focus on anxiety. Here are some things we learn from this passage:

  1. Let nothing in life give you anxiety
  2. Because we are called to give everything to God in prayer (including anxiety)
  3. The supernatural peace made available to us because of Jesus will guard our heart and mind
  4. We are to set our mind on things that are good, godly, and wholesome.

Notice that Philippians 4 does not say that life will not have anxiety. But when you do have episodes or seasons of anxiety do not let it consume you. Surrender it to God in prayer. When we allow ourselves to be consumed with anxiety and fear we live in a state of non-worship of the mind. But when we obey what God has said we worship God with our mind, it says I will not let [fill in the blank] define me or consume me, I will bring it to God. That is worshipping God with our mind. This is worship that God desires from his people.

-Jacob Rohrer

What’s Yours?

Acts 24-28

purpose

Monday, June 12

 

In this section of scripture, I was most impressed with Paul’s focus on his purpose, to preach the kingdom of God and to teach the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:31) all through confrontations, imprisonments, and wild storms at sea.  Throughout these major crises, Paul kept his cool and stuck to his mission.  He saw every crowd, every Jewish leader or government official as an opportunity to share the good news.

 

Many times in our lives, we face overwhelming situations or things that aren’t fair and each time we have a decision to make.  Do you lose yourself to the circumstances that surround you or do you stay focused on your mission?  Have you made a conscious realization or decision about your purpose in life? If not, take a moment to write down and define your purpose.  Here are a few scriptures that might help:

 

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

“This is the great and foremost commandment.

“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

 

Matthew 28:19-20

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

These sections of scripture give a basis for our purpose.  Love God, love your neighbor, go and preach the gospel to all creation and baptize them, and teach them all that Jesus taught.  Paul was entirely focused on this, so much so, that being accused by leaders in the Jewish community did not deter him, nor did he get shaken when the governor imprisoned and questioned him.  He still maintained his calm and focus as he appealed to Caesar.  He used each situation as an opportunity to speak truth.  I found this section to be confrontational personally because there are times when I do lose my focus.  I only see what is happening around me and start to feel overwhelmed instead of putting my attention on God and the purpose He has given me!  We have power through the holy spirit just as Paul did.

 

We can harness our minds, no matter what our situation whether it is good or bad, to accomplish our mission.  We may be unjustly accused, people may lie and scheme against us, or we may even be imprisoned or face major storms in life…but we can look beyond the surface and fulfill our purpose by loving people enough to share the gospel and spread the truth.  Go be a Paul!

-Ruth Finnegan