The renewal of the mind.

 BY Argie Simonis

God has created us all with a plan and a purpose:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jer. 29:11

It is something that we cannot realize when we are young, but at some point we mature and we have to make decisions about our lives.

- What is God's will for my life? -

This is a question that concerns us all. The answer to this depends on many parameters, as does the question of who is the right partner for you.

I've heard that you'll recognize your significant other by music or bells ringing in your ears, a kick in your stomach, your heart beating fast, or you'll just know in a way that can't be explained.

In the same way, they tell you something similar about how you can know God's will for your life:

"It's your destiny, just wait and it will happen, etc."

So since they cannot explain to you how to find God's will for your own life, the best way is to discover it yourself. Start studying the Scriptures, Christian books, watch anointed videos and teachings. When you give your time and heart to the Lord, He promises:

"And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart." Jer. 29:13

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----- A GREAT REVELATION

"I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Rom. 12:1

This reasonable service that Paul refers to here, is not just for the super saints or the bishops of the churches, but for EVERYONE!

And he continues in the next verse:

"And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12:2

The last sentence

"that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God",

it is also the answer to the question of how to find God's will in your life.

What is this living sacrifice that Paul mentions in verse 1? What does it mean to be a living sacrifice for the Lord?

Choosing our profession is a serious decision to make, but do you know that it is NOT of primary importance to the Lord? The Lord is more interested if we become that living sacrifice that Paul speaks of. It is this commitment, the decision we make to dedicate our lives to the Lord and to do what He asks of us so that His will may be done in our lives.

Whether you will become a teacher, lawyer, businessman, salesman, etc., how God will use you through your profession, will be the product of the same call that God has for everyone: To become a living sacrifice.

~~ Instead of praying to God to show you what to do, start asking Him to show you who He wants you to be. This revelation can really change your life! ~~

Living sacrifice is a daily commitment that we must keep, submitting ourselves to God.

~~ A sacrifice is totaly at the mercy of the one to whom it is offered. So like a living sacrifice, we go up to the altar of submission and surrender to the Lord every day. ~~

King David, although he made many mistakes, look what the Scriptures say about him:

"... I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, which shall fulfill all my will." Acts 13:22

Let's look again at Paul's words in verse 2:

"And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12:2

The word "conformity" that Paul mentions here, imagine it as the form that molten metal takes, for example, when it is poured into a mold. The metal, as it cools down, takes the form of this mold.

This is what Paul means here. Do not take the form of the mold of this fallen world.

We have an enemy out there, satan, who hates us to death and has many people working for him. So be sure that you will have problems and opposition in your life, which like fire, will melt you. No one will leave this life the same as they were born. Throughout our lives things happen that change us, shape us like molten metal in a mold. 

~~ No one can escape this pressure and meltdown. But do you know what the good news is? We choose the mold in which we will be formed! ~~

So whatever happens to us, we choose to be formed in the mold of Jesus Christ and not in that of the world. See what Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD." 2Cor. 3:18

If you are wondering, the glory of the Lord we see in that mirror is Jesus Himself. We read this in Hebrews chapter 1:

"Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:" Heb. 1:3

And in Romans:

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Rom. 8:29

Serving God is NOT going to happen by itself. It's a decision you have to make and stick to it diligently. When we make it our goal in life to seek God it is something that limits our options, but it puts us on the right path and gives us the certainty of our destination. In other words, we know BOTH what we want AND where we're going.

That alone, do you know how many burdens and how many traps it frees us from?

If you really want to be transformed, as Paul writes to us in Rom. 12:2, from something earthbound and usually ugly, like the caterpillar, to something beautiful that can fly, like the butterfly, the only way to achieve this is through the renewing of the mind by the word of God:

"And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may PROVE what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12:2

God created each one of us with a plan and for a purpose. Many Christians know this, but do not know how to discover it. This is what the apostle Paul explains to us here in Rom. 12:1-2. If we do what he tells us in verse 1, then it will be manifested and we will taste

"what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

No one can achieve this all at once. It is something that is done in stages. We move in this direction and gradually mature and grow in the Lord as He guides us. Remember the parable of the seed that Jesus said?

"For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." Mark 4:28

Do you know how I can tell someone's spiritual maturity? From the way he prays. Some prayers may sound good and right, like the Pharisee's prayer in the sanctuary, but don't forget that the Publican was the one who walked away justified. When we become the living sacrifice that Paul mentions, even our prayer will change. This is where the Lord reveals the religious hypocrite in us, not to criticize or punish us, but to set us free.

It never ceases to amaze me how religious many believers are from conversations I have with them, or even when I hear them pray. They have a completely distorted view of God. They see Him as a strict judge, a punisher ready to blast you for your every transgression, He is responsible for all the injustice, sickness, wars and every evil that exists on the world because He either causes it Himself or "allows it to happen" in order to fulfill a mysterious plan that He does not reveal to us.

So we are freed from all this as we become daily a living sacrifice before the Lord and the more we know the heart of the good Father and how much He loves us we are literally transformed into His own image,!

Amen!