Transformations

Romans 12:2  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

 

If you want the Lord to change the outside, you have to let Him change the inside. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In today’s world we hear the word change a lot. We start to think nothing of it. Business’ must change or they will fail, customer relationships must always be changing or they will suffer. Even in our personal life we much change constantly making slight adjustments here and there to keep up with the times. For example my wife used to never text, as a matter of fact not only did she not text, but she could not understand what the big deal was…….until she got a phone with a full keypad….then she made a little change in her life. In this scripture we are not being called to change. We are not being asked to make a little adjustment in our life. We are encouraged to be transformed. Transformation is a far cry from a little change, it is turning into something different. Everyone knows the Transformers, and it makes for a good illustration. You see a car on the screen, and the all of a sudden boom, it is a huge robot that you cannot imagine would have ever been hiding in that small car. That is transformation, becoming something totally different. Making a change so huge that one would have to look close to see what was there before.

 

That is the type of transformation that Paul was talking of. A huge transformation. A break from the pattern of this world. A change into something no one saw before. Do you notice where the change starts? Is it from a friend? Is it from a trip to church? Maybe you can get that transformation by going on a mission trip? No, while these things and many others might provide the spark, your transformation is not something you can go pick up, there is no UPC code to scan, there is no place to go get your ticket stamped saying that you are transformed. It starts with you…..it starts in you, it starts in your mind. You transform your life, by renewing your mind. You decide to take your mind from one focused on, me, mine, tomorrow, I want; and you change that to you, yours, today, and what do you need. If we are to walk in the footsteps of Christ….(OK we might not land right in the footsteps, but if we are to get close) We have to start thinking less like us, and more like Him. That takes a renewal of the mind. Here again, it is not a slight shift, or a little adjustment. I know many people who make a little change in life, a little change in the way they think, and then suddenly they think that they have transformed. I beg to differ. You have to renew, you have to re build, the Greek word used is anakainosis. Derived from the word meaning renovation. When we renovate our house we do not just change the carpet. We knock down walls, change the way the house flows, change paint, put in new appliances, door handles, and outlet covers. When we are done it is the same house on the outside but the inside is totally different. Could you imagine? You walk in to your friend’s house and they say “so what do you think? I renovated the house”. You look around, you do not really notice much, if anything different. Then your friend exclaims “ I changed out the carpet!”. ……uhhhhh “yeah that is great. “ Maybe they needed new carpet, but has a change really been made? Has there been true renovation? I think not.

 

It starts in our mind with a renovation. We have to tear down walls, open the place up a bit. We have to re paint, and change out that old junky clutter that we have with new stuff. When we are done (one might say we are never truly done) we might look the same on the outside, but the inside is totally different. The transformation is under way, and our lives will never be the same. In short your Jesus Freak flag is flying (contrary to popular belief, there is nothing wrong with flying the Jesus Freak Flag). Paul tells us that once we make that change, that renovation, then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. I hear many of my friends ask “well what is God’s plan for me” , “what is His will” “What am I supposed to do” We make the change. We transform our lives in to lives that live to serve Jesus Christ, and the will of God. We make that change, and God will take care showing you His will…..and you will know it!

 

It is an ongoing process, a house that is never finished really. With any renovation we must understand that sometimes we might not know where we are going until we get there. My wife will paint half a room, and then decide, nope wrong color. I have hung pictures, changed furniture, moved it all around the house, only to be told nope, it has to go over there. Oh, but when it is finally in place, when the color is finally right, when the right style of door handle is place on the right door…..it is fantastic! You know it is right. So it goes with our spiritual transformation. We will move things, change things, choose various paths, only to find we have to back track, change things again….oh but when we get that one piece right! I am sure that the Angels sing. We find that during all of our struggles to transform, we have found God’s pleasing, and perfect will. It take work, it takes time, and it takes perseverance. Do not let that hinder you. Start the transformation today. Maybe you have started it, but have become tired. Ask the Lord for the strength to carry on. The next wall you take out, might just be the one. It is never over, it is never done as long as we draw a breath on this Earth, we should constantly be moving out the old junk of the world, and bringing in the new Christ driven alternatives. We can’t finish, if we don’t start, we can’t transform, if we are only willing to transfer. It starts with your mind. It starts with you.  

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22