As we begin this New Year, like getting your wheels aligned after a year of swerves, bumps, and potholes, we’d like to reflect on whether our lives are aligned with God’s will. This second devotion challenges us evaluate our perspective on life and see if it is God’s… or ours:

IN WORD – How will we see things when God’s wisdom has become a part of our own thinking? What should this renewed, transformed mind of the believer look like? There are three radical reorientations that we must undergo. We will begin to understand our time, our treasures, and our talents differently. We will stand in a dramatically different place than we once stood, and our perspective will reflect the change. Our eyes will gaze on new heights and our desires will lean in new directions. We are a new creation; we will learn to live as one.
How do we get there? Do we change suddenly or little by little? Is it by the diligence of our effort or by the merciful gift of God? Is it a matter of hard study or spiritual osmosis? The answer is “all of the above.” God will give us His mind—we can be sure of that. It comes from Him out of the mercies of His good will, and He is generous with all of His children. But it also requires a diligence that will search His Word, seek His guidance, cooperate with His plan, receive His correction, and wait patiently for His providence. We are to boldly persevere in our ambitious drive to receive the completely free gift of God’s wisdom.
IN DEED – If you became a Christian as a child and do not remember well the difference between your new life and your old, you may have lost sight of the radical nature of the new mind. Or, if you once knew the power of transformation but have since let it slide into a hybrid life of the new and the old, you may have lost sight of the constant call of the new creation. In either case, let your mind be transformed and your life renewed again and again. It is a lifelong process for the believer, a work that God will complete the day He takes you into His presence. Never settle for the status quo. Never grow complacent or stale. Never lose sight of the upward call of God out of the ways of this world and into the heart of His will. “The difference between worldliness and godliness is a renewed mind.” —Erwin Lutzer (in “Walk with God” by Chris Tiegreen)

Many people accept Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. They want eternal life, but only as far as it is able to bless their worldly life. But Jesus must be both Lord and Savior. We cannot have one without the other. For Jesus to be Lord, it means that we must conform to His will and undergo a renewing of our mind.
Romans 3 – 8 can help us understand what is needed for this renewal of the mind. Take time to read a chapter each day and ask the Spirit to help you bring all things under His Lordship. You will then find that the promise of peace described in 8:28-39 will be yours each and every day. Have a blessed week! – from Singapore, Pastor Sam