- Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
- James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
As children of God, we know it is His will that our lives be different from those who don’t know Christ as Savior.
Challenged
Hopefully, each time you come to church, the worship, preaching, giving, teaching and fellowship challenge you to become the man or woman that God has planned for you to be. The Holy Spirit uses these aspect of our corporate gatherings to convict you and prepare you for daily life as a Christian (growing closer to God, showing everyone the love of Christ, and completing the specific work He has for you).
However, when you walk away from church each week, excited by the challenge of what you experienced, but then you don’t put forth the effort to evaluate and apply what you were exposed to, you will never experience true change (transformation).
Changed
If you are a Christian, you are changed. You went from being an enemy of God to being a child of God. Your eternal destination changed from hell to Heaven. And so much more change than can be listed here (read Genesis through Revelation repeatedly for more insight).
The change that God is telling us about in Romans 12:2 is focused on your daily life as a Christian (what you desire, what you think about, what you say, what you do, where you go, etc.). This verse if focusing on the day-to-day changes that result in you becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.
For the Christian, change starts with the challenge of knowledge:
- What you are exposed to when you are active in a Bible believing church.
But change is realized by the personal actions that result from that knowledge:
- What you do every day after you have been challenged at church and convicted by the Holy Spirit!
- Demonstrated Obedience to God’s Word
- Ongoing Submission to the Indwelling Presence and Immeasurable Power of the Holy Spirit
- Daily Personal Bible Study
- Frequent Personal Prayer Time
- Relentless Pursuit of Holiness in Every Area of Your Life
God has a plan for you. He uses His Church to prepare you for and propel you towards fulfilling that plan.
- Ephesians 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
Prayer
LORD, I pray that through Your power, patience and provision that I am changing daily into the man of God You have planned for me to be. I know I fail often. Yet I pray that your sanctifying work is fulfilled as I diligently seek You. Thank You for the work of the church in my life. Thank You for the passion You have instilled in me to pursue You every single day. My life is Yours. You are my Lord and Savior. I love You! Amen.
