"Total Reformation"

March 14, 2024 Daily Devotion: "Total Reformation" Romans 12:2 The Passion Translation Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. As believers in Christ, we are not our own. We belong to God and our lives are to be a continual sacrifice to Him. We do this by not allowing ourselves to be influenced by the world. Instead, we are to continually renew our minds so they are focused on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). When we keep our minds focused on the things of God, we are better able to discern and understand His will. This does not mean God will tell us the future, but He will give us wisdom and discernment as we go about our days. He will help us make choices that honor Him and others. When our minds are renewed by the Spirit, when we pray for spiritual wisdom and understanding, God will lead us in the right course of action. Even though God does not give us specific commands in Scripture concerning every decision we face in life, He promises to guide us as we walk in obedience to His revealed will in the Bible. Sometimes, we hope for one thing and God brings about something else. We may be hopeful that a relationship will lead to marriage, but even if it doesn’t, God will use the experience to grow us through it and to strengthen our faith. Perhaps we are hoping for a new job, but instead, God works through us to change a co-worker’s heart. We could be hoping for a clean bill of health, but as we endure physical suffering and rely on God, a relative comes to know Christ. Hope is being confident that we will see God’s goodness in our lives whether through the outcome we desire or some other good gift. No matter the outcome, true hope will always lead to rejoicing. It will always give us the strength to endure suffering. It will always drive us to persist in prayer. Hope will always lead us to rejoice in the goodness of God. As we renew our minds, becoming obedient to His revealed will in Scripture, He will enable us to know what He wants us to do in specific situations. As we do, we keep our hope anchored in His promises and not in the outcome of our situation.