Renewed!

Renewed!

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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.

In this new season we are in, there is the temptation to hold on to the familiar, the usual and the normal. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as what you hold on to aligns with the will of God. Today's verse lays out what the will of God is, and what I need to do to live in it on a daily basis. At the top of the list will be the personal knowledge of God. If I do not know God, how would I be motivated to seek His view on anything? With the popular attraction of the world, and how the world promotes its views, there may be the temptation to be distracted by the pressure to conform. However, it has to be laid out quite clearly that friendship with the world will never lead to friendship with God. Both are parallel lines that can never meet, no matter how long you draw them or how hard you try to align them. Both proceed from two distinctly different sources and have two distinctly different eternal destinations. I cannot combine both, and I cannot pay equal allegiance to both. 

That is laid out clearly in the verse above. The pattern of this world is opposed to the transformation of my mind. The devil knows that the heart is the battlefield, so he will do all he can to take hold of my heart. God also will provide all I need to know Him. I have a choice to make, and I give control to whoever I spend time with. Relationships are built on the investment of time. That is why the 'renewing' of my mind is a continous process, not a one-off event. By constant practice, I learn what God's will is. By constant practice, I fill my heart with the knowledge of God's Word, and I know His expectations from and for me. That relationship also helps me embrace His will, even when it may initially appear 'inconvenient'. I know that there are no accidents with God; I embrace whatever He allows because I know His will is always for my good. Remember: who controls your heart defines your eternal reality. Make sure it is God. God's time of favour is here.