How are we transformed? By the renewing of our minds. And what renews our minds? The Holy Spirit through Scripture!
"Do not conform" is a command here. I love the imagery of conforming to a pattern. It is a difficult task to stand out from the world's pattern, but I believe when we strive to walk out our faith by following Jesus and His commands in Scripture, we will find that we are nothing like the pattern of this world because Scripture has always been counter-cultural.
I read a wonderful devotion on this topic from Desiringgod.org. It stated, "The Spirit renews the mind. It is first and decisively his work... And the Spirit must work from the inside out, breaking the hard heart that blinds and corrupts the mind. The Spirit must work from the outside in, through Christ-exalting truth, and from the inside out, through truth-embracing humility. If he only worked from the outside in, by presenting Christ-exalting truth to our minds but not breaking the hard heart and making it humble, then the truth would be despised and rejected. And if he only humbled the hard heart, but put no Christ-exalting truth before the mind, there would be no Christ to embrace and no worship would happen."
The takeaway? We rely on the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and transform us, but we must be obedient and submerge our minds and hearts with the truth of Scripture.
How do you enjoy reading Scripture? Do you listen to Scripture? Read on your phone or an actual book? Have a special chair you always sit in? Favorite pen or pencil perhaps? Comment below!
Article quote from Desiringgod.org, "The Renewed Mind and How to Have it" by John Piper.
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