Renovation of the Heart
Transforming the Mind, Part 1 (4|5)
Pages 110-115
• Transforming the Details of Life
• Special Dangers in Our Thought Lives with God
• The Way Forward
TOGETHER read the devotional and the scripture.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Romans 5:1-8 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 8:1-15 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him, we cry, “Abba, Father.”
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your devotional notes and pray.
Transforming the Details of Life
”I constantly and thoughtfully engage myself with the ideas, images, and information that are provided by God through the Scriptures, his Son, Jesus; and the lives and experiences of his people through the ages. In doing that, I am constantly nourished by the Holy Spirit in ways far beyond my own efforts or understanding. What I receive in response to my efforts is therefore also a gift, a grace. Spiritual (trans)formation of my thought life is achieved by the ministry of the Spirit in the midst of my necessary and well-directed efforts.”
What does this mean and what is your response?
Special Dangers in Our Thought Lives with God
“Even the followers of Jesus fall into patterns of willing ignorance about important matters, including possible objections to faith in Christ and the beliefs and practices of others who are devoted to Christ. In fact, if we are to use our minds rightly, we must live in an attitude of constant openness and learning. Before we make judgments on any serious matter, have we looked into the facts of the case and have we carefully considered all their bearings? This is especially important with reference to those we disagree with or think we disagree with.”
In what ways do we wrestle with this (especially in today’s culture)? Does it compromise the integrity of faith to “live in an attitude of constant openness and learning?”
“Our present culture boasts of complete freedom in what one sees and hears. Many professing Christians are paralyzed or even destroyed by adopting this ‘freedom’ of lifestyle. For they allow images into their minds that eventually overwhelm them. If we allow everything access to our minds, we are simply asking to be kept in a state of mental turmoil or bondage. For nothing enters the mind without having an effect for good or evil.”
What is your response - Do you agree? Have you experienced/observed Christians soften to, change their stances, or walk away from biblical teaching to pursue the secular culture in the name of “freedom” of lifestyle?
The Way Forward
“The intention to be formed is to have the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ a constant presence in our minds, crowding out every false idea or destructive image, all misinformation about God, and every crooked inference or belief. Thus it is the intention to use divinely powerful weapons “for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
How? How do you have God and Jesus be “a constant presence in our mind”? (This is similar to Paul saying “Pray without ceasing”) How do you “take every thought captive?”
EXTRA READING:
“A silkworm was struggling out of the cocoon and an ignorant man saw it battling as if it was in pain, so he went and helped it to get free, but very soon after it fluttered and died. The other silkworms that struggled out without help struggled, but they came out into life and beauty, with wings made strong for flight by their battle for fresh existence.”
- Sundar Singh (1889 - 1929)