RENEW YOUR MIND

VERSE OF THE DAY: 

What is Repentance?  

It is to turn away from sin followed by turning to God.  

But there is more to repentance that I think is not really talked about, and I am going to get into that more. By asking you this… 

How do you repent?  

First and foremost, you can’t repent without there being first a transformation taking place. This transformation takes place in your mind. Your mind has to be renewed. As, the verse of the day tells us in Romans 12:2. 

Now, you may be wondering what does it mean for your mind to be renewed? And how does that link to repenting? 

Don’t worry I got you, let me explain. 

You have to be aware of your sin(s) and recognise the root of the matter.  

Usually the root takes you back to a thought. There was a distorted thought, opinion, idea or belief of sin that had occurred in your mind, that instead of checking it and rebuking it, it had become a mindset.  

Into now a thought pattern because you had mediated on it (repeated over and over again in your head) as truth or thinking and believing there is nothing wrong with the sin, which had become a habit. So, you kept doing this particular sin. And, it furthered displayed into your behaviour. 

Here is an example of ‘Identity in culture’ mindset that needs renewal (repentance) into an ‘Identity in Christ’ mindset.  

I am using this kind of example because where the verse tells us “Do not conform to the pattern of this world”, Paul is telling us to not follow, comply or behave to the cultural standards of the world. 

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See, the world, society, culture will tell you things that are opposite to what the word of God, what Jesus Himself had said in the word, and what God would tell you now. 

Understand this, society will make you pursue things that can never be attained. You can’t pursue perfection in this world, when the only one who is perfect is Jesus who you can attain because He has already chosen you and saw you as worthy to die for. 

When you go into the world to find out who you are, to allow the world to tell you who you are, to compare yourself to others to determine who you need to be – it is because you don’t trust God, you don’t trust what He says, who He is and who He says that you are.  

So, you rather believe the lie that the enemy tells you, society tells you or what you even tell yourself. You may not do this consciously but subconsciously we all do. 

This may be triggering, I know, the Holy Spirit triggered me when He told me this because it is so vital that we know this, especially as His daughters. 

If it is in the word of God that we should not conform to the ways of this world, then you know it is important for us to know and obey – it is a command. 

So, we are going to have to unlearn somethings today, okay. 

Here are some tips that can get you started on transforming your thoughts, mindset, habits and behaviours so that they align to God’s original thought about you that you need to live out. 

I have explained what repentance is and how to repent. Now, what is the clear evidence to show you that you have a renewed mind? 

Reminder: How you THINK determines how you FEEL. How you FEEL determines what you DO. What you DO becomes who you are. 

So, in context with the verse of the day: Romans 12:2.  

When you are not conforming to the patterns of this world, you are allowing the Holy Spirit to transform your THOUGHTS to be renewed, so it can align with God’s thoughts. Because the Holy Spirit knows God’s thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:11-12), so He can do that for you. 

Thus, you willingly FEEL to let go of your own initial desires, purpose and will for your life.  

But instead, you end up aligning them and DOING God’s desires, purpose and will for your life. 

Therefore, you become WHO you were made to be in the image and likeness of God.  

All because your mind has been renewed to match God’s mind of you. Your mind is now aligned to the will of God instead of your will because, you have allowed your mind to conform to God’s way not the way of the world.

When you think like the world, you then fall into conforming to its patterns and you end up behaving in its will for you. But when you think like God, and conform to His word, you behave according to His will.

However, an un-renewed mind is a selfish Christian. Because you’re not thinking about God’s will/purpose/desires but your own will/purpose/desires. 

GOAL: Set your mind on who GOD has called you to be. And not conform to what “THEY” want you to be. 

Reflection:  

I want you to write down your current thoughts, mindset, habits and behaviours towards a sin you are struggling with and what your new thoughts, mindset, habits and behaviours will be.  

This will help you to visually see how your mind needs to look like when renewed – this is how repentance looks like. (You can use the image above as guidance to help you)  

I hope this helps you and that you understand what repentance means and how to renew your mind. If you want to learn more about this, look out for our ‘Faith Friday’ and ‘Study Sunday’ blog posts on repentance. Stay tuned.  

Stay Blessed, 

Divine L.