Renewing of Your Mind

²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

The attitude of the mind is to be renewed.

^{Romans 12:2} Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

How do we renew our minds? Well how do we renew furniture or how do women renew their nail polish? We carefully and delicately take off the old finish and then apply the new. How does that relate to our minds? As we meditate on the Word of God and keep His Statutes and principals in front of our eyes, if we bind them on our hearts and speak of them when we rise and when we recline and have our hearts filled with spiritual songs and hymns then we can remove the old and put on the new. Just like a bank teller who handles true real currency all day long can tell the counterfiet just by feel so also we will be able to discern the truth from the lie when we handle truth so much and so often that it makes a difference in the attitude of our minds. The lie just sticks out because it is not congruent with what we know as true.

APPLICATION
As a leader I must recommit myself to advocating the daily intake of God's Word. I must be careful to make sure everyone who I have any influence over is engaged in the gathering of fresh manna each day.

The Ultimate Corruption, Death.

²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 

The old self, once we are born again we inevitably end up with the "two of me" the former self that lived and had its existence solely in the realm of the flesh, wantonly motivated by comfort and the unattainable desire for satisfaction in regards to career, sex, fulfillment etc. with continual lust for more. Once in a while I would gorge on one thing or another and it would not satisfy but disgust me because of my inability to limit my over indulgence.  Then there is the other me, once born again could look back on the former me and see a stark difference. The new me has an inner voice a conscience that guides me and is now my motivator toward what is good and right. As I walk in the path of His guidance I find peace and joy in the fulfillment thereof. However the old self tries to rise up and entice me to attempt again to find fulfillment in the things of the flesh, but just as the flesh is corrupt and will eventually rot so are the desires of the flesh corrupt.

^{James 1:14} but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

According to this verse the pattern is clear, fleshly desire is evil and corrupt but can be enticing, by it we are temped if our desire is not put in check then that desire when it is fully grown leads to death, the ultimate corruption.

APPLICATION

To recognize that the desires of my old self are corrupt, and the fulfillment of them is fleeting if not impossible therefore the only thing that can come of it is sin and eventual death.

Make it Happen?

^{Romans 12:
11} Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. NIV

¹¹Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. CEV

¹¹ Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. NIRV

How do you create zeal?
How do you form enthusiasm?
Can you design eagerness?

I think that we run the risk of becoming insincere or a phony "poser" when we try to make zeal or enthusiasm happen. True zeal or eagerness springs from the heart as a response or a reaction to something that inspires. In order to be inspired we need to have our hearts open and willing to be moved. Now here is where we can make something happen. We can be open to the Lord to make ourselves be willing.

Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

God is always willing to work in us even to help us to be willing, we on the other hand need to be open for Him to do that work in us.

It always comes down to the condition of the heart.

APPLICATION
Each day I need to keep my heart in the right condition to be inspired by the fire of the HS to will and to do His good pleasure.

Sincere Love is...

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

It has been said that if you ask 1000 people what love is you are likely to come up with 1001 different answers. Does it not stand to reason that if God is love and He has a book out, should we consider perhaps what God says love is?

^{1Cor. 13:4} Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸ Love never fails.

According to Websters 1828 the word sincere is defined as follows:

1. Pure; unmixed.
2. Unhurt; uninjured.
3. Being in reality what it appears to be; not feigned; not simulated; not assumed or said for the sake of appearance; real; not hypocritical or pretended. This is the present use of the word. Let your intentions be pure and your declarations sincere. Let love and friendship be sincere. No prayer can avail with a heart-searching God, unless it is sincere. 

 When we love like this it is sincere. Learning to love like this will take a lifetime. However if we learn to empty ourselves and be led by His Spirit we can love sincerely now, in the moment and consistently.

APPLICATION
To actively deny self and allow the Spirit to lead the thoughts and intents of my heart. Trusting that I will have the mind of Christ and love others with sincerity.

No Greater Value

^{Mark 8:37} Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

In a transaction there are usually at least two parties, the buyer and the seller for example. The price of the sale is agreed upon based on the perceived value of the item being bought or sold. So if I walk into a store and see an item I want, I then look at the price and if the item is more valuable to me than the stated price I am likely to buy that item. In the same way according to 

1Cor. 6:19 You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

We have been bought at a price, what is that price that purchased our souls? The price is the blood of Christ. If we look at it in a transactional way then God thought our souls were more valuable  to Him than the sinless blood of our savior.
How much more shall we value our own souls. In the 13th chapter of the book of Hebrews we see that as leaders we are charged with the stewardship, care and nurturing of the souls of our flock.

^13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

And since the price that was paid is so dear to God's heart we as leaders will be held accountable as to the way that we tended the souls of those He has given us charge over.
APPLICATION
To be reminded as to how precious our souls are to the Father and that I am to regard their value as He does. Therefore carrying out His will on earth as it is in Heaven.

The Righteous Will Live by Faith

Acts 8:35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

This really comes down to faith. Do you really believer that God exists and that what He has said is true. If we do not believe that His promise of heaven is absolutely true then we will look for some heaven here on earth, we will tend to see this verse about losing your life as the same thing as wasting your life. However by faith if we believe that what He has promised is indeed true the things of this world grow strangely dim and have no power over me. If I keep my mind on heavenly things and not on earthly things my perspective becomes aligned with His and my thoughts and considerations rhyme with heaven.
APPLICATION
I need to be reminded that my life is not my own, that it was bought with a great price and that as a bondservant I have agreed to die to self willingly and joyfully moment by moment day by day in the littlest things to the greatest. and by doing this I demonstrate my faith, for without which it is impossible to please God.

Deny Self - Fast

^{ACTS 8:34} Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

What does it mean to deny oneself? Websters 1828 dictionary definition of deny is:
DENY, v.t.

1. To contradict; to gainsay; to declare a statement or position not to be true. We deny what another says, or we deny a proposition. We deny the truth of an assertion, or the assertion itself. The sense of this verb is often expressed by no or nay.

2. To refuse to grant; as, we asked for bread, and the man denied us.

The human being is comprised of three significant parts, a trinity, body soul and spirit. Our body is the obvious flesh and blood visible part of us that is born, then wears out and then eventually expires. Our soul is our intellect our emotions and our volition, the part of us that has the capacity to learn, to love and where we have our personality it is also where we make our decisions from. However our decision making process does share its place also with our spirits, which apart from being born again are dead and non existent. Without our spirit having life we are merely body and soul, much like the rest of the other animals. This is probably why the atheists who do not have life in their spirits conclude that we are evolved from the monkeys etc. but that is another argument for another day.  Our spirit once it has the life of God animating it is the part of us where we are able to communicate with the Lord and where we are able to receive conviction, comfort and guidance from Him as well.
Self is the body and soul part of us, when we deny self we are allowing our spirit to rule, to be the dominant part of us. As one person put it recently, it is like a tug of war within ... Indeed it is and as we deny self we allow our spirit to have control over our decision making part of us and as we follow His leading we find our purpose for our lives and our peace and our joy for living.

The simplest and most effective way to deny self is to fast from food for a particular amount of time. A christian should fast as a matter of lifestyle. When asked when was the last time you have fasted a christian should respond in days or weeks ago, not months or years that would be too long to allow the flesh to reign unchecked.
APPLICATION
I shall fast sometime this week to refresh my spirit and deny self.

Mindset of Obedience

^{ACTS 12:9} Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.

Sometimes the Lord will lead us to go somewhere or do something that we do not fully understand.
Proverbs 3
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

Here we see Peter in just such a circumstance in fact Peter is not even sure if he is conscious, or if he is just seeing a vision.
^{Yet Peter is obedient, and quickly obedient. Hesitation is disobedience, it is a sign of disbelief. When we are confronted with an urging from the Lord and we doubt and hesitate, we are giving the enemy a "card" he can play on us at his whim. It will be on small insignificant things at first but when it matters and the decision has great effect on our lives we can become prone to hesitate. Because we have become comfortable with the hesitation our doubts can become unbelief. This is how people find themselves in the wilderness, not knowing how they got there. Doubt, missed opportunities for obedience, the voice of the HS becomes more and more faint and we miss the way.
APPLICATION
I need to be pro-active and ready myself to be willing to be quick to obey, so that it is not a debate or decision but more of a reflex and attitude or mindset of obedience, or lifestyle of obedience.}




 

Acts 12:8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.

This encounter by Peter with an angel of God is somewhat unique in that most other encounters with angelic beings and humans usually result in the human freaking out, like John in Revelation or when Daniel saw the angel and fell as though he was dead, here Peter just does what the angel says to do and it is no big thing. Perhaps we are able to encounter angels in our everyday lives and not know it.
Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Also in Hebrews 1:14
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? 

So as we continue to walk out our faith and find ourselves in the center of God's will do not be surprised to find angels assisting us to accomplish God's plans.

APPLICATION
To strive to be in God's will knowing that He is willing to strengthen me as I continue to serve His purposes.

Doubt your Doubt not your Faith

^{Acts 12:6} The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.

So Peter, after following Jesus his Lord and Master for three years, witnesses first hand the earthly rulers of the day brutally torture and kill Him. Then his young friend Stephen is similarly killed this time by his fellow countrymen the Jews. Fresh in his mind is the execution of James the son of Zebedee Peter's fishing partner, and now here he sits awaiting trial in the morning, destined to be a pawn in the show trial, Herod's plaything. The prophesy that Jesus spoke over Peter was probably echoing in his mind that he would be led where he did not want to go.... was this it? Although Peter did see the risen Lord, he did witness all of the miracles, then again John the Baptist's head was served cold, on a platter to please this Herod's demonic whim. The throes of doubt can become vivid and awfully convincing. It is at the crossroads of doubt that we decide to either remain a believer or enter onto the path of unbelief. This is where we find Peter.
APPLICATION
When I come to the place of doubt I need to doubt my doubts and not my faith. I need to develop the discipline to question my fears and insecurities and fall back on the things I know by faith to indeed be true, such as I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me, that God's will for my life is to prosper me, and that when I trust in Him with all of my heart and lean not to my own understanding He will make my path straight. Doubt the doubt not my faith.

Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

So even though the forces of this world were constraining Peter, the believers continued to boldly present their request for Peter's freedom in the Throne Room of God. There is comfort in the Throne Room. When something is going on that is troublesome or vexing, the believer will find himself seeking the Lord in prayer. When something happens that is difficult for a community of believers they will naturally band together in sweet fellowship and join together to pray and be comforted by God and by one another.
APPLICATION
As a leader I need to be ready to call together the team whenever there is trouble for in our prayers and fellowship there is comfort and peace.

Matthew 15:27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

At first blush this scene can be considered a harsh and heartless expression by Jesus, even racist by modern standards. Referring to a needy person as a dog is indeed not something that would be acceptable in this day and age. I would consider it the ultimate irony however once you realize that if it were not for the teachings of Jesus and the prosperity of the church down through the ages it most probably would be completely acceptable to treat one another in a harsh and racist manner. Let us not forget that it was the conviction of the HS that ushered in the movement driven by the British politician William Wilberforce who led the way to abolish the slave trade in the mid 1800's. Let's not also forget even in this country women were not considered full citizens until the suffrage movement in the 1920's - less than one hundred years ago. Although in the book of Ephesians God gave women the same value as men where we are to submit to one another as unto the Lord, it was Jesus Christ and His church which has led the way on matters such as this. All one has to do is look around the world and note the countries and territories where Christianity has taken root and you will find all manner of prosperity, equality, liberty and justice. Even the American experiment was founded on the principals of Scripture in light of freedom of opression and the pursuit of religious and personal freedom.

APPLICATION
I need to remain mindful of the big picture that our faith has had an enormous affect on humankind and that I am playing a vital role in the story of what God is doing. I need to be about my Father's business, as it is the most important business in the universe.

Acts 8:31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This is the proof text for the need for the bible scholar. The one who spends his time and effort analyzing the text and sorting out all of it's ramifications. This is also a proof text for one of my favorite axioms "in order to learn one must be willing to be taught". The eunuch invited Philip to explain the passage of Scripture thereby setting himself in the place of humbly being willing to receive instruction. That is the place of teach ability, the place of learning.

APPLICATION
I, first need to cultivate and maintain an attitude of teach ability for without it I cannot progress, secondly I need to remember to refrain from instructing others unless I am invited to do so.

Acts 8:30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

Phillip was told to "go that chariot and stay near it" so Phillip ran. His obedience was such that he immediately sprang to action without hesitation eager not to miss the opportunity the Lord was giving him. His attitude was eager and zealous, in the right direction. Unlike Moses who was obedient but eager in the wrong direction, he struck the rock twice when he was instructed to speak to it, he did more than he was asked and with the wrong attitude, it cost him dearly. He portrayed to the children of Israel that the Lord was angry. However with the right attitude we see Phillip doing more than asked and he is rewarded accordingly.

APPLICATION
I need to be obedient quickly and to also cultivate the right attitude.

ACTS 8:29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Many times the Lord will give us instruction to just get us to a starting point where we can then be maneuvered to the next place He wants us to go. He might say go to A and when we get there it becomes obvious what B is all about so we go to B and then C becomes clear. He may do this because there may be lessons we need to learn on the journey from A to B and then to C that we would not have experienced if we just went to C in the first place.
Like Joseph and Mary going to Egypt first then to Nazareth, in that instance it was God protecting them. For Moses and the children of Israel the 40 years in the desert were a time of stripping away and purging of sin. Even for Jesus who only went where the Father told Him to go or who said only what the Father gave Him to speak was led of the Spirit into the wilderness first to be tempted and then into His ministry.
APPLICATION
I need to be careful to be quick to be obedient to the directives the HS gives me even if it seems to be unusual or not enough information.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;