The word of the day is, and will forever be, ‘TRANSFORMATION!’ It’s one of my favorite words, and I absolutely love that it’s one of the Father’s favs as well. In Romans 12:2(NKJV), He tells us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” In this verse, we learn what NOT to do, and we also learn exactly what we should be doing. The Lord tells us not to be conformed to this world. What does it mean to be conformed? To be conformed to something is to behave, comply, and/or follow the standards that most everyone else in society is following. It’s to adopt society’s culture as your own. Heavenly Father said ‘don’t do it!’

When we talk about culture, we’re not talking about aspects of unique and rich heritages that are passed down through generations and add flavor to our lives. We’re talking about the culture of unbelief and denial when it comes to the truth of God’s Word. The world has turned its back on the righteousness of God and adopted its own standard. We can see all around us that this isn’t working out well at all. God is our Creator, and His Word sets the standard for humanity. It’s a beautiful standard, and it incorporates the best of the best.

In John 8:32(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Only the truth will make us free; we cannot be free by believing a lie. Most of us are taught to conform to everyone else’s thinking, but the Christian is called by Christ to break the chains of conformity and walk in the truth. This is how to be free. Jesus Christ IS the truth! He said in John 14:6(NLT), “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” A lot of us have got some serious negativity going on. We’re down on ourselves, and down on others. That’s not a Christ mindset. We’ve got to let the truth into those negative places in our minds, then we can walk in the extraordinary liberty that Christ extends.

In Romans 12:2, Heavenly Father not only told us what to do, but how to get it done. He said be transformed by the renewing of our minds. To renew is to make new again. This is what we have to do in terms of the way we think. Jesus Christ is Lord because he encompasses every wonderful thing God desires for humanity; it’s all summed up in Christ. And guess what? He gave his life on Calvary so that you and I can know our identity in him, receive the gift of eternal life, and then become ambassadors of his enormous love. Talk about a transformation, this is it!

Jesus was not a head-hanging low, pitiful sounding and looking individual. When he walked the face of this earth, he was the BUSINESS!!! So dynamic, so loving and charismatic; people flocked to him wherever he went. This is the effect love has. It’s magnetic. It’s contagious. Every person that is of love will quite naturally gravitate towards it. You and I are destined to walk in a Christ-kind of confidence; the kind that is full of God’s love.

Confidence and faith begin in the mind, and it’s important to think like Christ to keep our motives pure, with no hint of arrogance or pride. The mind of Christ is pure excellence. His thoughts are those of making life better for everyone. This is the mindset that God expects us to emulate. 2Corinthains 10:5 tells us to capture every rebellious thought and teach them to obey Christ. We can do this because God has equipped every thinking individual with the capacity to examine their thoughts. We can look at them from every angle, and then decide whether to keep them, straighten them out, or throw them away.

We have it on God’s authority that transformation begins in the mind. It’s where the spiritual war is waged, and we must be relentless to stand our ground on the truth of who and what we are. 1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) tells us, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.” We’re not defeated, powerless creatures who are meant to be sad all our lives. Christ declared that through him we’re more than conquerors, and God has given us a spirit of love, power, and self-control to seal the deal. Be about the business of renewing your mind to your Christ identity. Philippians 1:6(NIV) tells us “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” You’re a masterpiece in the works! Study the truth, let it permeate your entire existence so that the love of Christ can continue the transformation in you that he has begun.■

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide. 

“A Sealed Deal” written by Fran, edited by PMB for DomesticAbuseAwareness.Org ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!