Today I want to share with you a devotional I received in my email from The Daily Blessing Devotional. It is my hope that it will touch your life as it did mine.
Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer 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.(NIV)
How many of you wore a school uniform to school? As young children we did not have to wear a school uniform however as a teenager at high-school it was a different story. Everybody was expected to purchase the correct clothes and shoes from the school uniform shop. When the start of the year came, you had better be wearing the correct clothes, or there would be trouble. You could be sent home to change clothes, or you would be put on detention, or both! Detention was where you had to spend your lunch time, or after school picking up rubbish and cleaning up around the school grounds. Not a fun way to spend your free time.
There were some days in the year though, where they would make a special exception. To raise money, every one would pay $1.00, and then you could wear your own clothes. This was always a very interesting experience. All year you were looking the same as everyone else. But on this day, which we called mufti day, everybody came in their own clothes. It was on these days you could really learn a lot about a person just by seeing how they dressed and how they expressed themselves. The school seemed to spring to life, and overall there was a sense of celebration and freedom in the air on these days.
If we look at today’s verse we read that we should no longer conform to the pattern of this world. We should no longer be a part of the world, and the spirit of the world.
What does this really mean?
It means you shouldn’t be wearing the same uniform or garments that those in the world wear. It’s quite easy to see what those are. Just take a look at Hollywood. Take a look at the news. People in the world are full of hatred. They are full of anger towards each other. Full of jealousy. Always fighting for position. Looking for fame and recognition to fill the needs deep within their hearts. Looking to each other for acceptance, yet so focused on self they know nothing of love.
Have you heard some of these expressions? Life is short, so party hard! No pain, No gain. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. In other words, you do me a favor, and I’ll do you one.
But you as a child of God don’t have to be bound by the spirit of the world. You see just as we had to pay for the school uniforms to wear to school, being a part of the world will cost you. It will cost you dearly.
Do you want to be recognized by the world? Do you want to make it in the business world? Or perhaps in the entertainment industry? What are you true heart motivations for the daily activities you carry out?
Is it to glorify the Lord Jesus? Is it to pour His love to those around you? Is it to serve those He brings you as an example of His love?
There’s only one way to know for sure!
You need to be transformed by renewing your mind. That means your thinking needs to be changed. That word renewing also means renovated. So it is kind of the same as having your house renovated. That means knocking down some walls and removing some things that are causing damage, like rotten wood. Putting some new structures in place, to make the house strong. Adding on new rooms, adding new lights, changing the colors of the walls.
The Holy Spirit will do the work within you. He is ready and waiting to bring transformation to your life, and to cause you to shine with His Light and His Glory! He has come to wash away the Spirit of the World within you, and cause you to walk in His Spirit.
Why not take a verse today and spend a few minutes meditating upon it? Say it aloud over and over. Emphasize some different words. See what pictures it brings to your mind. Allow His word to sink into your heart today, and begin a transformation.
Then as you become more and more like Jesus, your path will become clearer and more visible. You will no longer be walking around in a fog, or a mist, but you will have the light of His presence to shine upon your path, and you will find yourself walking in His joy, and fulfilling His plan and purposes in your life!
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