Transform!

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

If we take a good look around, we will see that our world is in a constant state of transformation. Nothing remains the same!  Water evaporates and is transformed into clouds which, in turn, bring rain.  We are born, and we transform into adults.  We are in a constant state of transformation, and we need God's help to transform into someone who willingly obeys Him.

Guess what?  There are people whose lives have been transformed by God from horrific to forgiven.  Have you ever read the story of Saul who met Christ on the road and transformed him into Paul?  How did God transform Saul into Paul? By changing the way Saul thought.  You see, our minds are immensely powerful.  What we think determines our view of the world and everything in it.

One argument I used to used to use was to simply say, "Well, everyone else is doing it!"  I stopped using that argument when I was 9 or 10.  My Mom answered my argument with, say it with me, "If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you jump too?"  My reply..."Yes, because I would land on them and not get hurt."  Mom's paddle swiftly and sharply applied very quickly transformed my way of thinking.

In my life on this rock, I have realized that my thinking is transformed depending on where I focus my mind.  If I am angry with someone, I'm not a very nice person.  If I have a rough day, I am not much fun to be around.  But when I focus my mind of Christ and His way of thinking, my thoughts change and so do my actions.  It's a daily quest to focus one's mind on Christ, and sometimes it is difficult to focus when we see all that's going on around us.

Remember Paul who used to be Saul?  He wrote a letter to the church in Philippi instructing them to focus their minds: "Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."  How about you?  Are you ready to be transformed?