Devotional - Transformation

Devotion: Romans 10:9 says depicts the salvation experience for the believer. It says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised him from the dead, you are saved. So, the moment that happens, you become a child of God. But God does not want us to stop there. He wants to transform you into the image of Christ completely. In John 15:5, Jesus says that those who abide in him will bear much fruit. Many people, including myself, believe that he is talking about the fruit of the spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I reference this because there should be an inward and outward manifestation when a person starts believing in Jesus Christ. Transformation should be evident. The way that this transformation takes place is by presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. Sacrifice points to surrender. Which lets us know that surrendering is the key. You must have the desire to be transformed. God doesn’t force anything on anyone, the question is, do you want to be transformed? 

Devotion: The mind is such a critical aspect of transformation. Ultimately, your heart/mind is going to determine your actions. Sin typically happens in the mind first, then it is acted out in the physical. The Bible tells us that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, which means that we will begin to see a new nature operating in our lives once we have our minds renewed. The way the mind works is that it is shaped by everything that you put in. If you continually put in things of the world, you are going to look like the world. You are going to talk like the world. You are going to think like the world. But if you put in the word of God, your mind is slowly being shaped into the figure of Christ. Then you will notice that you are thinking like God, talking like him, and bearing much fruit. 

Devotion: In 2 Corinthians 10:4, Paul speaks about destroying strongholds. A stronghold is essentially a belief that is strongly defended. In physical terms, it is essentially a fortress/defense system to keep the opposition out. As it pertains to the mind, a stronghold is a belief formed over time based on what you have put in. Before Jesus and our salvation experience, so much was put in our minds through experiences, politics, culture, etc. Therefore, when we are saved, there are still some old beliefs hanging around that need to be destroyed. Those beliefs that were developed over time need to be replaced by the beliefs that God holds. Paul even says in verses 5 and 6 that we destroy arguments and lofty opinions raised against God. And we should take every thought captive to obey Christ. The Apostle Paul is saying that your Christian journey should involve your mind being transformed to look like the mind of Christ. Anything that goes against God needs to be destroyed and replaced with beliefs that align with God. God wants us to be transformed. He wants us to think like him, to talk like him, to look like him. He does not want us to think like the world, talk like the world, and look like the world. For this to take place, the mind must be renewed. 

Devotion: The most important factor for transformation is the ministry of the Word of God. Without the Word of God, transformation is not possible. Many people try to take shortcuts to transform their minds and their lives, but there is no shortcut. You cannot be transformed if there is an absence of the Word of God in your life. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12 that the word of God is living and active. I referenced this to show you that the Word of God is not dead. The Word of God is ALIVE. Jesus Christ is the Word. At the end of Hebrews 4:12, the Bible says that the Word of God can discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart; this means that the Word of God can read you as well. 

The Bible says in Romans 12:2 that we should not be conformed to this world; that portion is referring to the thinking pattern that is associated with this world. Then it says that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds which means that we should be conforming to something else, which is the Word of God. Your mind will always be conformed to the world if you are a consumer of the world, it will essentially begin to shape you as a person. Therefore, if you want the word of God to shape you, you must be a consumer of it.