Life can often bring pressures to change.. sometimes the changes can be good and sometimes not so good.. and many times the changes and trials of life bear down hard conforming us in strange ways. When I think about this a few verses come to mind:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. -Romans 12:2
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. -Romans 8:29
There is a tension in these verses. On one hand they speak to the idea that we have a responsibility to reject worldly molding.. on the other hand it speaks to the idea that God is at work making us like Jesus. Another verse comes to mind when i consider this tension.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
-2Corinthians 10:5
This verse is part of a passage that tells us that we are in a spiritual war. It speaks to me of my need to live from my inner most being and not from my mind. When we live from our own understanding we are led around by thoughts that may seem right to us but are not God's best.. reminds me of this scripture:
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
-Proverbs 14:12
This graphic verse spells it out.. living from our own understanding produces death.. living from our innermost being leads to life.. it is a matter of conformation. Will we allow our innermost being.. that place where His Spirit lives.. to conform us or will we be conformed by the understanding of our head? I think that it is a war that can be won.. but not with our head.. no matter how smart we are
Life can often bring pressures to change.. sometimes the changes can be good and sometimes not so good.. and many times the changes and trials of life bear down hard conforming us in strange ways. When I think about this a few verses come to mind:
None of us are that smart!
ReplyDeleteSusan
And then I realise that my heart is "deceitful and beyond cure". I keep falling on His grace and long that this year my heart of stone will become more the heart of flesh that He desires for me. Happy new year Bob.
ReplyDeleteMight just be semantics Mike but I believe that our hearts (our innermost beings) are not "deceitful and beyond cure". From an old post titled Your Heart is Good:
ReplyDelete"If the heart is desperately wicked then why should I trust anything that comes out of it. It forces me to look outside myself continually for direction and help. Though that is not necessarily a bad place to start, to live that way continually does not develop any place for solitude or quite where we can meet Father on a regular basis. If my heart is evil, why would I want to meet God there? I am in need of constant rescuing, from myself and from my own heart. His gift, His presence is my new heart.
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