I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.(Romans 12:1-2 – ESV)
Friend don’t put God on your agenda, get on God’s agenda, and let me tell you something, His agenda may not be for you to have a good life according to the world’s standards, or even your own supposedly godly standard. Remember Habakkuk 3:17-19? Are you prepared to follow Christ no matter the cost? Are you going to present yourself as a living sacrifice?
In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer says "what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." After all, "the history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God." If no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God, the same is true of individuals. We can never rise above our idea of God.
How we think about God influences how we live for God. We ought to get our ideas about God from the bible, don’t you think? Jeremiah 9:23-24 – What comes into your mind when you think about God? I am not talking about new age visualization nonsense; I am talking about the fact that we need to be shaped in our thinking by the Word of God.
The renewing takes some time, and even then we are to be testing things by it. Now this is where this whole passage is leading. The goal of a renewed mind is that we would be able to discern, to test, and so therefore to know, what is good, what is right, what is acceptable, what is mature, what is godly, what is the will of God, and then live that way, and learn to always be living that way.
This is a real concern because we can correctly identify something but then fail to apply it correctly. We know some bible but not enough of it, just enough to be deadly to ourselves and to others who we poison. A big reason why we misapply scripture is because we are only looking for a way out of sacrifice when Jesus is the way in. We are looking for scripture to perform for us, for God to perform for us, instead of us performing to the dictates of scripture regardless of what happens.
Now this isn’t done by just knowing facts about the bible, or even facts from the bible, but knowing the God of the bible, and knowing His will, His way, with His wisdom. Not just right thinking, but right values. This isn’t simply about memorizing more verses, although that is good. It isn’t just about trying harder to be good. This is about learning to value Christ above all else, and to be able to taste His goodness so that you pass the tests of faith when they come. You will know what Christ is like and when something isn’t up to standard, to avoid it. Its value is seen for what is really is, pleasure for the moment but poison for your soul. You learn to discern.
4 comments:
There are two more posts coming from ths important passage, it would do you well to read them all together and ponder them, that would be a good start to your "Bible brainwashing"...
We are looking for scripture to perform for us, for God to perform for us, instead of us performing to the dictates of scripture regardless of what happens.
This proves how desperately I need God. As a woman, manipulation can easily weasel its way into my thoughts and actions (subconsciously, of course). It is so important to take the time to process them rightly. To allow God to show us the error of our ways. Why do I do the things I do? For my comfort? For my glory? or .... For His Glory?
I am not going to touch some of that comment....truly, in some areas, I have learned to discern!
You have grown very wise ....
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