As the New Year has come and gone, I have been thinking about New Year's Resolutions again. On one hand I like the idea of resolutions because it is a time to reflect on our lives and look at some things we would like to see change. On the other hand I don't like resolutions because for the most part, we forget about them by the end of January. Here is a New Year's Resolution with eternal value: Spend daily time in God's Word!
Each year I like to start out the year with a message on Romans 12:2. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." If you look closely at this verse there are two commands. The first is not to be conformed any longer to the thinking of this world. The second is to renew our minds so that we can do the will of God.
It is profitable for us to think about the extent of the influence the world has on our thinking and values. If you think about it, we are bombarded every waking moment by the values of the world. That means that if we are awake 16 hours a day, for 16 hours the world is trying to squeeze us into it's mold. Most of the time the values of the world are exactly opposite of God's values. To make matters worse, before we came to know Christ, we all had the mind of the world so we were part of the world system. This all points out the magnitude of our need to work at renewing our minds. This process of learning to value the things God values and to hold dear the things which please Him is an immense one. It is a process which will take dedicated effort on our part and also require the divine work of the Holy Spirit.
So how do we renew our minds? Or what process can we use to renew our minds? Three steps come to mind. First, we must adopt a new authority for our lives. When there is a conflict between the values of the world and God's values (which there is on nearly every moral issue), we must make the decision that God's values are our new authority. This means that God is right and the world is wrong. This is adopting a new authority.
Secondly, we must begin to fill our thoughts with God's thoughts/values. The only place we can reliably find God's thoughts is in the Bible. In order to renew our minds we must fill our minds with God's thoughts, or as Colossians 3:16 says, "let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly."
This leads to our third area of need. We need God's help in this process. Without His help, we do not have the power to win this battle for our minds. So, as you and I read, study and meditate on God's word, we need to be praying and asking His help to understand it, to embrace it (love God's values) and apply it. As we faithfully follow this process we can be assured that God will renew our minds. It is not instantaneous. It is often slower than we would like, but it is sure.
I'll sign off with two verses which are great promises of the power of God's word in our lives. These are great verses to remember at all times, but especially when we need some encouragement that spending time in God's word really is profitable.
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
... "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it". Isaiah 55:11
Pastor Dick
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God's glory is displayed in the Church as He takes fallen and broken people and cleans them up and gets them ready for heaven. In doing this, His qualities of justice, mercy, patience, and kindness are displayed to all created beings in the universe. His justice is displayed because sin is dealt with. This happens as His wrath against sin falls on His Son, and not on those who really deserve it (all of us). This also displays His mercy and kindness, because undeserving people are forgiven and brought into His family. His infinite patience is displayed as He takes this group of misfit people and slowly transforms them into the image of His Son and makes them ready for heaven. This process of transformation involves two parts. The first part depends solely on God, because His Spirit is required to do this as we people don't have the ability to do it on our own. The second part is dependent upon the people as we learn to depend on and walk by the Spirit. We learn to follow the Spirit as we are in God's Word, which strengthens us and teaches us to live lives that are pleasing to God. 
