Romans 12:2 - Surrender and Transformation.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform 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.
Romans 12:2 (NLT) Dont copy the behavior
and customs of this world, but let God transform
you into a new person by changing the way you
think. Then you will learn to know Gods will for
you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
COMMENTARY PEARL
Some historians consider Albert Einstein
the greatest scientist who ever lived. Often
called the "father of modern physics," Einstein
didn't amaze his teachers early in life. He
struggled with talking until he was nine, causing some
of his teachers to wonder if he was mentally
challenged. Despite his limited speaking abilities,
Einstein had an inquisitive mind and was drawn to
math. By age twelve, he excelled in geometry. By
sixteen, he'd mastered calculus. It was also at age
sixteen that Einstein wondered what it'd be like to
ride his bike on a beam of light. Over the next
sixty years, Einstein helped prove the existence
of molecules, explained the nature of space and
time, and changed the way that scientists studied
light.
Einstein may be famous for his scientific
achievements, but he's equally known for his insightful
sayings. He once defined insanity as "doing the same
thing over and over again and expecting different
results."
If we honestly look at our lives, we'll
have to admit that we often live insanely. We
want to get better grades at school, but we don't
change our study habits. We hope to improve our
trumpet playing, but we keep practicing the same
way. We desire to grow closer to God, but our
Bibles remain on the shelf and we say the same
prayers over and over.
Change isn't always easy, but it can be
good. God is a God of newness. He wants us to
think creatively and see life in fresh ways. He
doesn't want us to act insane. Romans 12:2 says, "Do
not conform 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." God gave us amazing minds that can solve
problems, dream big dreams, and seek God's will. But
we can't do any of that if we conform to this
world.
As you build your life on Christ, seek to
change your mind to be more like God's. If you feel
like you're stuck in a cycle of insanity, break
away! Turn off inappropriate TV shows. Stay away
from harmful websites and YouTube videos. Switch
up your music playlist. Renew your mind by
focusing on God's truth and jumping into his Word.
You may see life in a whole new way.
"Do not conform 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" Romans 12:2. [Case For Christ For Kids
by Les Strobel]
COMMENTARY
There are two verses in the Bible that
are written by the same author and seem to send
an opposite message:
Do not love the world or anything in
the world. If anyone loves the world, love for
the Father is not in them (1 John 2:15 NIV).
Thats pretty clear!
God so loved the world (John
3:16 NIV).That looks like a big contradiction
right there.
The world is used two ways in these
verses. The first verse refers to the worlds
value system, and the second refers to the
worlds people. We are to love people, no matter
what choices they make, but we are to hate the
value system (e.g., prejudice, racism, injustice,
sexism, war).
The problem is, we often get it reversed.
We love the value system and hate the people.
Christians do this all the time. Instead of being
different, we can be just as materialistic, just as
hedonistic, and just as enmeshed in the culture.
Thats backwards.
For the rest of your life, youll face
great pressures to conform to the culture. This
was Israels biggest problem for thousands of
years. They wanted to be like other nations. Yet
God gave them all kinds of moral, civil, and
ceremonial laws to make them different on purpose.
God has done the same for you and me
God has told us exactly how we should live and
how we get the wisdom and power to stand out in
this world: Dont copy the behavior or
values of this world, but let God transform you
into a new person by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know Gods will for you,
which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans
12:2 NLT).
One reason you may not know what God
wants you to do in life is because you may be too
acculturated with this culture. Often this happens
without you realizing it. But you cant think like
the world and think like God thinks. You have to
make a choice.
The problem with following culture is
that its all temporary. You need to follow
something that is eternal: Gods Word.
Fill your mind with Gods truth, and
let it transform your life by changing the way
you think. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
ILLUSTRATIONS
My wife and I were on the road one
morning right before sunrise. We passed a field with
thousands of sunflowers. They were a beautiful sight!
Unusual too, because we noticed they were all facing
the same way - east. Then we understood. Those
sunflowers were waiting for the sun to come up. As the
first rays spread across the horizon and washed
over their faces, the flowers came to life.
When we got home, I did some research and
learned that sunflowers follow the path of the sun
throughout the day. By evening, they are all facing
west. Then during the night they turn to the
center before resetting east to face the sunrise
again.
Isn't this a beautiful message to all of
us God-followers? We should wake in the morning
ready to soak up God's love, his light, and his
glory. Then we should reflect it to others
throughout the day. At day's end, bathed in peace, we
rest. Theres a lovely simplicity to living like
the sunflowers and keeping our faces to the Son,
our Lord Jesus.
Father God, I can hardly contain myself
when I realize that you've placed your message of
love in every part of your creation. In Jesus'
name, Amen. [Celebrate Recovery Daily Devotional
by John & Johnny Baker re 2Co. 3:18]
Christians talk a lot about serving and
giving and releasing rights and putting down
self"and we should. It's part of the whole Christian
package. It's expected, to an extent. But isn't it
possible to go overboard on stuff like this? Aren't
there some people who will take advantage of
servants and turn them into slaves? You bet there
are!
In fact, that is the ace trump among
cultic leaders. The secret of their success is mind
control. They want your mind, and they are not
satisfied until they have absolute control over it.
The ultimate control is behavior modification,
which is just another word for brainwashing.
A tragic example of this is the story of
a religious leader named Jim Jones who headed
a cult called The People's Temple in the
sixties and seventies. In part, Jones preached a
radical social gospel based on feeding the hungry
and housing the poor. But it went beyond that.
Thousands flocked to his revival services, and they
eventually founded communes in California's Redwood
Valley and around San Francisco.
But the power was apparently too much for
Jones. At some point, he proclaimed himself the
"only hope for salvation," and there were stories
about beatings and blackmail of his followers, as
well as rampant promiscuity. When officials began
making inquiries about Jones and his followers in
1976, The People's Temple fled to the tiny nation
of Guyana on the northeast coast of South
America, where they formed a community known as
Jonestown. By 1978, the stories of violence and abuse
at Jonestown hit the headlines, compelling
California congressman Leo Ryan and a group of
investigators to fly to Guyana to look into the charges.
Shortly after arriving, Ryan and his colleagues were
machine-gunned and beaten to death! In the aftermath, Rev.
Jim Jones persuaded his followers to commit mass
suicide by drinking a concoction of Kool-Aid and
cyanide.
This dark and grisly affair shocked the
entire world, but it proved just how far men and
women who are deluded by their lust for power will
go to carry out their fantasies. The story
isn't mentioned very often these days, but may God
help us never to forget the lessons of that
terrible episode or the dangers that always follow
when such people gain complete control over other
people's lives. Taken from Improving Your Serve by
Charles R. Swindoll.
CLOSING THOUGHT
God made us: invented us as a man invents an
engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would
not run properly on anything else. Now God
designed the human machine to run on Himself. He
Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to
burn, or the food our spirits were designed to
feed on. There is no other. That is why it is
just no good asking God to make us happy in our
own way without bothering about religion. God
cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from
Himself, because it is not there. There is no such
thing. C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2016/20160312-1658.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON 28 REVELATIONS OF
JESUS
1st of 28: Divine Dining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7j1QIKqmY
