By Sandy Gagliardi
Happy Friday friends!
Today, I welcome guest blogger Sandy Gagliardi to GraceNotesforYou! I met Sandy shortly after moving to Greenville and sensed an immediate connection to her. Sandy is wise in the Word, loves to study Scripture, and shares her knowledge with others. I am personally blessed by Sandy’s writings that she shares in the form of daily reflections. I’m confident you will be blessed as you read her post today!
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2 ESV)
I recently received an unsolicited email that was promoting “Ten Books That Will Change Your Perspective on Life.” Unsurprisingly, the Bible did not make the top ten, but I was curious which books would be considered life-changing to today’s audiences. Although the most influential book of all time did not make it, the list promoted a variety of man-made philosophy books promoting “mindfulness” and “looking within yourself.” A review described one of the book’s contents as “Buddhism mixed with mysticism and a few references to Jesus Christ and a sort of New Age re-working of Zen.” It sounded more like a melting pot of spiritual voodoo rather than a book to “change your perspective” to anything resembling truth.
Romans 12:2
I am currently studying the book of Job, and I realize the continual ignorant advice of his friends had only fragments of truth. No doubt their intentions were good, but their theology was flawed. As I consider this, I wonder how it is possible to avoid the ever-present and powerful influence of the world’s thinking as we navigate life? How do we fight the temptation to add or take away something from the truth of the gospel? In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul offers practical insight as to how to effectively accomplish this.
A Living Sacrifice
In the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul teaches about a new life in Christ by grace alone. The next chapter, (12), begins with “therefore” as Paul transitions into his conclusions regarding the new life. He describes the essence of the Christian life as being sacrificial, holy, acceptable to God, and spiritual worship.
Paul is in fact saying we must willingly put to death any right we believe we have to choose what our life looks like. Potentially this ideology sounds un-American, but regardless, a “living sacrifice” is most certainly what Paul explains our new life in Christ is to resemble.
The Truth
The truth is that we are never free if we live solely for the purpose of pleasing ourselves. We can make this choice, but at some point, we will all end up serving something or someone. However, there is good news! And this is the exceedingly better choice: serving God! This is the safest, happiest choice we could make. Yet, how do we avoid the constant pull of the world? Romans 12: 2 explains that this can only become reality through the process of transformation.
Be Transformed
“Do not be conformed…but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”(Romans 12:2 ESV)
We talk as though we have control of our minds. We make statements like, “I’ve changed my mind“, “I’ll put my mind to it“, or “I’ve made up my mind.” You see, the unredeemed mind conforms to the world’s standards. In truth, even a believer’s mind is susceptible to this same influence. This is because we in fact live in the world as imperfect humans.
Hope and a Plan
In Romans 12:2, Paul provides hope and a plan to escape the lure of sin and temptation. It is in fact a transformation that takes place each time we intentionally hit the “reset button” by renewing our mind. The truth is we are not born desiring God. It is something we learn, which is why it is a subject Jesus often emphasized in His teachings.
So, I wonder today what does this “reset button” look like to you? The following are some positive possibilities you might consider:
Be curious!
- Seek God routinely, spontaneously, relentlessly.
- Ask the challenging questions.
- Do not shrink from Scripture that you believe, or others suggest is too difficult to understand.
- Develop an insatiable thirst for Scripture that increases with a daily Bible reading habit.
- Discover the experience of “awe” and “wonder” as you fellowship with other believers in community. (see Acts 2:42-43)
Be still!
- Pause in your prayer for thoughts to form (besides your to-do list!).
- Ask, seek and knock.
- Listen to God’s personal love song to you through hymns and other Christian music.
- Ask less of what you can do for God, and more about how you can know Him better.
- Ponder your answer to God’s question, “Who do you say that I AM?”
Behold Him!
- Spend time in nature appreciating God’s beauty, intelligence, order, imagination, power, attention to detail, humor, and extravagance.
- Ask God to show you His glory.
- Consider Yahweh’s “bigness” and immense power, putting the fear of man and anything else in perspective.
- Look for God’s “fingerprints” on circumstances and answers to prayer, leading to increased trust and faith.
Finally, as you are being transformed into who God’s called you to be, allow His amazing love overwhelm you every step of the way!
My name is Sandy Gagliardi. My husband George went to heaven six years ago, so I live alone, but I’m never lonely. Eight grandchildren and five adult children and partners provide the best part of my days. Recently, I moved to a small town in northeast Georgia to be closer to family. What I didn’t expect is my new 55+ community has provided bountiful opportunities to stay active and form solid friendships. For years my custom is to begin every day in God’s Word and conversation with the King. Reading through the Bible is a rewarding discipline that helps me begin each day with wisdom and the confidence of God’s love to tackle the day.
Pray
Father, you have seen who I am, and you love me anyway. Renew my mind so that it transforms the new life you have given me into your “good and acceptable and perfect” will. In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.
Extend grace to others!
If you’ve been encouraged, strengthened, or edified by this week’s post, please consider sharing Grace Notes for You with a friend.
Community Question of the Week
Do you have a personal “reset button” like Romans 12:2 is for me? If so, describe how God has, or is currently using it to renew and transform your mind, heart, and spirit. Encourage others with your response HERE!
Hitting the “reset” button is something I need to do more often; great read!