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.

What exactly does this mean? As I read this the first thing that comes to mind is that I better try and have some idea of what His will is. It doesn't read...figure out what Mindy's will is.


So let's start here. Do not conform. What are the patterns of this world? Well, I don't think you need to be a sociologist or psychologist to know what some of those things are. Greed. Who isn't somewhat worried about having-having-having more. Materialism. Isn't it odd how we think having a 'THING' will make life better. Like that certain car, or furniture, or new toy will give us joy. Vanity. Movies, TV, music videos...all "sell" us the idea that looks matter. That if we are the right size, if we look the right way we'll be PERFECT. Pride. Know anybody that thinks they are all that and a bag of chips? Deception. How easily we lie to each other, to ourselves even...trying to hide the truth we don't want anyone to know. Well, I could go on and on. So it says that we should not conform ourselves any longer to those patterns. Instead we should renew our mind and in doing so we will be transformed.

Be transformed. By renewing...this is ongoing. How often we fall back into old patterns because we fail to continue to renew our minds. We fail to continue to be transformed. So we go to church once in awhile. So we try to live a "good life" (whatever the heck that is) So we smile and make nicey nice so that people will like us. IT MEANS NOTHING. If I am going to know, really know, Christ and even attempt to follow the path that God has chosen for me...I'd better continually, daily, moment to moment---renew my mind and leave behind any desire to follow the ways of this world. Man, that's hard. It's so uber easy to fall back into old habits. It's so uber easy to get lazy...to settle for those friends who don't challenge us...to do what is easy vs. what is right. But it's much more than that.

Then we can test and approve... ahh...here's a key. The reason WHY we need to renew our minds and be transformed. So we can test and know His will...but also so that we can treasure it---approve of it. An example I've heard is that you can infer that honey is sweet by the smell, the fact that's it's gooey and crystallizes like sugar...the fact that kids like it on toast. Or you can taste it and experience it and truly know that honey is sweet. If and when we have a renewed mind---we are not just out there floundering about, hoping that we make right choices. We do not have to actively stop before every little thing and obsess over whether or it's right or wrong. We will be living in God's will and have died to the worldly ways of living and looking at life. It's so amazing to me.

We stray. I stray. There is this song...."Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"...it's a hymn, which is not normally my favorite kind of music...but the lyrics of this song. Man they are something else. It's really long, so I'm not going to post it all...but this verse really hits home for me:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Lord, help me stay close to you. Give me the full desire to leave behind the ways of this world...bind me to you. I give you all of me to do with as you wish. When I am feeling low, or angry, or like I want to put you aside and do what makes me happy...help me desire to only follow you. Thank you for sending your son to die for me. Thank you for knowing every thought in my head and loving me anyway. I cherish the life that you give and forgive me for wasting even a moment of the time that you give me. I will live my life letting my light shine for you. Loving like you, forgiving like you, caring like you and allowing you to work through me. I will trust that You know the big picture and you will not allow me to experience anything that You can't handle. I will rely on You and Your strength and not try to do things my own way. Jesus...thank you for loving me and caring so much about me that You laid down your life so that I might live in Heaven with my Father for eternity. I am nothing without you and with you...I have need for nothing. Amen.