“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t 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 God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2, NLT)
For there to be transformation there must be the recognition that there is a different way of thinking, of seeing things, of understanding. I need to be able to realize that God’s thoughts and His ways are not the way I think. For me to be able to understand the way that God thinks I will need His help. There must be at least the humility to recognize that I do not know everything, understand everything, and see things perfectly.
When we are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds it is clear that without a new way of thinking nothing is going to change. Transformation is only possible by the help of the Holy Spirit teaching us the things that we do not know or understand, teaching us the ways and thinking of God. “No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:11, NLT)
The promise is that God would give us a new heart and mind and that He would write His words in our hearts. Every day we can present our hearts afresh to the Father and ask for the new thoughts to replace the old memories that so many times keep us distant from Him. It is by being honest with God and in our relationships, by being known that we can experience this change. It is by putting on new thoughts that we learn new ways of thinking.
“The Lord your God is with you. He is a hero who saves you. He happily rejoices over you, renews you with his love, and celebrates over you with shouts of joy. ” (Zephaniah 3:17, GW)
James 5:13–16
Romans 8:6–8
1 Corinthians 13:9–10
Jeremiah 13:23
2 Corinthians 3:18
https://youtu.be/aS4iM6KpPYo (The Bible Project Video on the Hebrew word for heart/mind)
The name of the book is: Anatomy of the Soul – Surprising connections between neuroscience and spiritual practices that can transform your life and relationships – by Curt Thompson, M.D.
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