Made NewSample

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. - Romans 12:2a

Often, Jesus makes us new slowly. For most of us, it’s going to feel like choosing to trust Jesus everyday. But here’s the good news: Jesus will continue to make us new each day, if we ask Him. 

In Scripture, there was a church leader named Paul. He had a radical life change (read Acts 9 for his incredible story), but Paul also knew all about day-by-day change. Paul was super smart, and he’d often write letters to different churches to encourage them in their faith. Paul was in the thick of Roman culture — and Roman culture was intense. It was all about advancing yourself, promoting yourself, and getting ahead. And that's a lot like our culture today. 

In his letter to the Roman church, Paul encouraged the people not to give into culture, but to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. The idea behind “renewing” is to be renovated from the inside out. 

Have you ever seen one of those home renovation shows where someone buys a house and then completely transforms it? They gut it from the inside out, using sledgehammers, paint and new furniture. Then at the end of the show, they present the house to the new owner, and everyone cries on camera because the house is so different from what it was before. “Renewal” is the same kind of idea. A renovation — or a renewal — needed to take place in order for that house to be transformed into something greater than it was before. 

It’s the same with us. Our minds and our thought patterns need to be renewed — or renovated — from the inside out so that we can be transformed into who Jesus is calling us to be. 

We don’t have to give into the pressure of culture — to find ourselves, promote ourselves, or prove ourselves to people. Instead, we can know who we are: we are people loved by Jesus, and that no matter what, He will never stop loving us.  

Jesus calls us to think about ourselves the way He thinks about us, which is really opposite to the way we naturally think. We have to ask Jesus to help us re-train our thoughts — and to learn to think differently. When we start doing this, we will start to see life change.

Can you start by asking Jesus to renew your mind today?