11-20-2021

 Good Morning All!

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.”

     Have you ever heard the phrase “I believe in individuality…as long as we all do the same thing?”  It is all right to be yourself as long as you conform to the norms that are set out.  Even as this may sound like a safe idea, it is the devil and the world that wants you to conform to the world. It can occur in very subtle ways.

    It can start when we are much younger and in school. The devil wants you to believe that you are never good enough; you are never smart enough so just sit back and fit in like everyone else does. As this occurs, our sinful nature not only feeds our lowered self-esteem, but it also speaks to our guilt. Not only are we not good enough to win the prize; we are told that we are not fit for God’s kingdom either. So, a vicious cycle begins its downward spiral of guilt, self-doubt and self-loathing. 

     Jesus came into the world to transform you. He came into this world, into your life in a way that would completely change us from what we were to what we are. We went from “lost and condemned creatures” to “redeemed children of the most High God.”  That is a change! Our status is completely different. We are no longer conformed to or by the world; we are formed by God through Jesus

    Yet the devil continues his whispers against us. He continually whispers in our ear; you are handsome enough for her; you are not pretty enough for him. They will look for someone else very soon. You are not smart enough for that job; you lack the charisma for people to truly like you; it is all an act. The devil will hammer you over and over to destroy the confidence in God’s promise that we have. Faith is as much a mental act as much as anything.  We do not “feel” we are saved; we “KNOW” we are saved. God made a promise, and we need only to cling to that promise.  

     So now we do not have to conform to the world and its view of us. Jesus has freed us from all that the devil will try to twist us into. We are free to be the disciples who Jesus sets out to make us. We can trust, by faith, that God’s will is pure and good for us. This is part of the promise that God made to his people long ago; a promise that you and I experience. He wants to redeem us, to be our God and to let us live our life in full confidence of our salvation. He wants us to enjoy our redeemed life as long as we live it here.  This is part of the “already but not yet” part of the story. We are already saved but we are not yet glorified. We live by grace and grace is God’s glory not yet finished.

    Do not conform to the world; let Christ total transformation give you hope and comfort until life eternal.

Dearest Father, you sent Jesus to transform us into his disciples. Guard us as your dear children. Be with those whom the devil is attacking with all those painful salvoes and give them the strength and courage to stand tall in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret