The end of every calendar year brings the dawn of a New Year and with that many people make New Year resolutions. Most of these seem like very good decisions: losing weight, getting organized, exercising more, eating healthier, and managing finances better; they are some of the most common resolutions. We usually hear and talk a lot about what we will resolve to do in the New Year, most of which are usually broken in a matter of weeks. Many people are very pessimistic about the whole issue of making resolutions, and rightly so, because so many good intentions are followed by a history of past failures.
And so, the question bodes, why do so many fail? One answer is because resolutions and good intentions are the mind numbing, everyday way of thinking. Our minds need a revolution in thinking, an overthrow of thought and we need to drain the swamp of old man thinking; we need the renewed mind. Make no mistake; it's not easy. It's a battle in your brain, but it can be done.
Romans 12:1 1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The word "beseech" means, "to call to aid, to call alongside." God is exhorting us to draw close to Him, to walk with Him by presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice unto Him. Notice we are to be living sacrifices. He wants us to be active, faithful, and committed to Him.
We are God's arms, hands, feet, legs, and mouth. One person believing and acting on God's Word could change the course of the world. History has proven that to be true. Noah, Moses, David, the apostle Paul and Jesus Christ to name a few, the next name could be you. My prayer is that you "believe it".
We need to renew our minds to the truth of what God's Word says, (2 Timothy 2:15) and not what a philosopher, sports figure, Google, fake news outlet or the internet has to say. Most of these have good intentions; I mentioned that before so you know where that gets you. A lot of people, including some theologians, have a lot of enthusiasm and zeal but very little knowledge of the truth of God's Word. That's why it's so important to know the genuine if you want to recognize the counterfeit. Until we know and apply the truth of God's Word, we will be manipulated by the devil to some extent. It's our choice; we need to get off the fence. Look at Romans 12:2 again.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
God doesn't want us to be conformed to this world, why? Who is the god of this world?
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
The god of this world is the devil, the adversary, the thief from John 10:10. Think about it, steal, kill, and destroy. You don't want to conform to this world.
The word conformed is "syschēmatizō" in the Greek and it means, "fashioned, to conform one's self (i.e. one's mind and character) to another's pattern," and I added the world's. You can't let the world shape and mold you because eventually it will steal, kill and destroy you. The secret of the devil's success is the secrecy of his moves. He's a snake in the grass.
The second part of Romans 12:2 tells us what to do. Start a revolution! Transform your mind. The word transformed is metamorphoo which is where we get the word metamorphosis, the process where a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. It also is translated as "transfigure".
Matthew 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
We can get a new figure in our mind, a changed form. When we renew our mind to God's Word we can change into a different person, we can actually change from the old man caterpillar to the new man butterfly. That person, (if you're born again, if not see (Romans 10:9 + 10), that's already living inside you with a face that can shine like the sun. Christ in you. Now let's look at the last part of Romans 12:2.
How do you prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God? By renewing your mind. The word "prove" is the word dokimazō defined "to test, examine, prove, scrutinize (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), as metals". Every time you renew your mind, put on the mind of Christ, you will prove not only to yourself, but to others also that God's Word is true and never fails.
While writing this article I thought of a Kenny Chesney song "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, No Body Wants to Go Now." Really, was 2020 such a great year? A worldwide pandemic, calls to defund the police, anarchy in the streets with riots, looting, shootings, buildings burning, and the list goes on. I'm here to tell you yes, it was a good year if you are a child of the one true God and have a renewed mind. As far as I know, believer's still had their needs met and at the end of the day were little more than inconvenienced by all the devils distractions. That's one reason we need to put on the mind of Christ! If you didn't hear it pick up the teaching on alleviating anxiety, there's no new thing under the sun.
You don't have to wait for 2021 to start to metamorphoo you can do it when your done reading this article. Number1: make a conscious decision, number 2: get up and do it. Why not start your revolution today. Declare war on the adversary, the war can be won or lost in between your ears. Why not do something that will have an impact on not just you but the whole world.