Renewing
Every day there is renewing going on in our lives in so many different ways. In this Pearl we want to talk about the renewing process in God’s Kingdom. First, let’s take a look at the definition of renew.
To renew: To renovate; to restore to a former state, or to a good state, after decay or depravation; to rebuild; to repair; to re-establish; to confirm; to make again; to repeat; to revive; to begin again; to make new; to make fresh or vigorous; to transform; to change from natural enmity to the love of God and his law; to implant holy affections in the heart; to regenerate.
As you can see from this wealth of definitions, renew is making new once again something which has been fresh and good before. We as mankind have been born anew, born again, from a state of lack and separation from God to a new state of freshness, love, restoration, regeneration, to the state which our ancestor Adam, the first man, had. We are once again children of God, created in His image and likeness. Those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord are back with Father. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus.
But there is something that is not new. That is our minds. Our minds have to be retrained in the thoughts, ways, purposes and desires of God Almighty. Our minds must be renewed to His way of doing things. The Lord has provided us with this Word called the Bible which is the instrument for renewing our minds. This renewal of the mind is a daily process, a forever process as long as we are here on this earth with people who want to bend our minds the fleshly way, satisfying self and fleshly desires.
We are to renew our minds daily, all the time, 24-7 to God’s Word, His Kingdom, His way of doing things, His MO.
In Proverbs 23:12 in the Amplified Bible we read: Apply your mind to instruction and correction and your ears to words of knowledge. In the New Living Translation we read the same verse: Commit yourself to instruction; attune your ears to hear words of knowledge. And finally, in The Message Bible we read: Give yourselves to disciplined instruction; open your ears to tested knowledge. And in Ephesians 4:23 we read that we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. We are to have a spiritual renewal of our thoughts and attitudes.
We see from these two previous scriptures that we are to do something with our minds. We are to renew them. And with what? The Word of God. If we want to operate God’s way, we must think God’s way. And if we want to think God’s way, we must keep His Word ever present in our minds.
Paul instructs us in Romans 12:2 Amplified Bible that we are not to be conformed to the world, to the world’s way of doing things. But, rather, we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds so that we may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for us.
We are not to allow the way the world does things to dictate our thinking and the way we live. God’s ways are usually the opposite of the way the world does things. The world says to hoard your money---keep it for yourself. God says: Give and it shall be given unto you. When you are in need, sow. The world says that we are not to let anybody get by with anything with us. God’s Word says that we are to take no account of the evil done to us. We are to pay no attention to a suffered wrong. We are to love our enemies and do good to those who despitefully use us.
We are to be transformed by God’s Word in our minds. His Word tells us what is His good will. And God’s good will is acceptable and perfect in God’s eyes for us.
The New Living Testament says that we are not to copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform us into new persons by changing the way we think. Then we will know what God wants us to do, and we will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.
Tomorrow we will finish our study of renewing.
To renew: To renovate; to restore to a former state, or to a good state, after decay or depravation; to rebuild; to repair; to re-establish; to confirm; to make again; to repeat; to revive; to begin again; to make new; to make fresh or vigorous; to transform; to change from natural enmity to the love of God and his law; to implant holy affections in the heart; to regenerate.
As you can see from this wealth of definitions, renew is making new once again something which has been fresh and good before. We as mankind have been born anew, born again, from a state of lack and separation from God to a new state of freshness, love, restoration, regeneration, to the state which our ancestor Adam, the first man, had. We are once again children of God, created in His image and likeness. Those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord are back with Father. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus.
But there is something that is not new. That is our minds. Our minds have to be retrained in the thoughts, ways, purposes and desires of God Almighty. Our minds must be renewed to His way of doing things. The Lord has provided us with this Word called the Bible which is the instrument for renewing our minds. This renewal of the mind is a daily process, a forever process as long as we are here on this earth with people who want to bend our minds the fleshly way, satisfying self and fleshly desires.
We are to renew our minds daily, all the time, 24-7 to God’s Word, His Kingdom, His way of doing things, His MO.
In Proverbs 23:12 in the Amplified Bible we read: Apply your mind to instruction and correction and your ears to words of knowledge. In the New Living Translation we read the same verse: Commit yourself to instruction; attune your ears to hear words of knowledge. And finally, in The Message Bible we read: Give yourselves to disciplined instruction; open your ears to tested knowledge. And in Ephesians 4:23 we read that we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. We are to have a spiritual renewal of our thoughts and attitudes.
We see from these two previous scriptures that we are to do something with our minds. We are to renew them. And with what? The Word of God. If we want to operate God’s way, we must think God’s way. And if we want to think God’s way, we must keep His Word ever present in our minds.
Paul instructs us in Romans 12:2 Amplified Bible that we are not to be conformed to the world, to the world’s way of doing things. But, rather, we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds so that we may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for us.
We are not to allow the way the world does things to dictate our thinking and the way we live. God’s ways are usually the opposite of the way the world does things. The world says to hoard your money---keep it for yourself. God says: Give and it shall be given unto you. When you are in need, sow. The world says that we are not to let anybody get by with anything with us. God’s Word says that we are to take no account of the evil done to us. We are to pay no attention to a suffered wrong. We are to love our enemies and do good to those who despitefully use us.
We are to be transformed by God’s Word in our minds. His Word tells us what is His good will. And God’s good will is acceptable and perfect in God’s eyes for us.
The New Living Testament says that we are not to copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform us into new persons by changing the way we think. Then we will know what God wants us to do, and we will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.
Tomorrow we will finish our study of renewing.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 8:23 PM
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