March 28, 2016-RTM, Day 10

Today’s Verse:

I am delivered from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13 NKJV).

In Context:

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.  He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. (Colossians 1: 11-14 NLT)

I know, I know. It’s taken me a long time to do 10 days worth of these “Renewing the Mind” verses.  I had intended to do more than one a week, but unfortunately, life gets in the way. J I really like this verse though, and especially when put into context of the verses right before and after it.  It’s very hopeful, encouraging, and appreciated after a couple of weeks of verses that, for me, were more challenging to delve into during this particular time of my life. What stands out for me in the verses above are the words endurance and patience.  Paul is praying for the church he is writing to, praying that they will have the endurance and patience they need to go on in their faith, to live with joy, always thanking God. As I have grown and developed as a mother, wife, daughter, friend, and employee in the child care and education career path, I have developed what I consider a pretty decent measure of patience.  Endurance, well, I have that too as I always preferred cross-country running to track and field and waiting on toddlers to complete a task has taught me to smile at the little things while I wait, just as they do. 

Although I have a good dose of patience and endurance already, I am also keenly aware when my patience is running thin, and especially when my endurance is hanging on by a thread.  That’s when I need to remember Paul’s prayer, that God will provide me with all the patience and endurance I need.  As my mom often says, “Life gets tedious sometimes.”  It’s during those “tedious” moments that we need to pray for God’s gift of patience and endurance the most.  During these times, our mindset should be one of thanking the Father for all we have already been blessed with, despite whatever tedious, daily annoyances get in the way.  There will ALWAYS be something we can complain about, something we can be irritated with, something that chips away at our patience and endurance for day –to-day life. There will always be another bill, another unexpected delay, another drama or heartbreak, another tragedy of this broken world.  Instead, in renewing my mind this week, this day, I chose patience, endurance, and joy over frustration and bitterness.  I chose to seek the light over the dark. I chose to be thankful instead of resentful.  Life is not perfect, and it never will be, but once again, so much of renewing our minds is about putting life in the right perspective, the right light.  Don’t let others bring you down. Instead, bring your tedious annoyances up to the Father. Let Him take them off your plate and give you true joy and peace in its place. 

March 22, 2016-RTM, Day 9

Today’s Verse:

I am clean, set apart, and sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11).

In Context:

Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin; you have been dedicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11 GNT)

Chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians is Paul writing to the church of Corinth.  Right before this verse, he lists out a number of sin/sinners who will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and then goes on with verse 11 to note that some of us were these sinners and have now changed. Thus, the verse about being clean, sanctified, and set apart, which is sometimes hard for me to accept or say about myself because I don’t always FEEL clean, sanctified and set apart (well, maybe the set apart section, but in a different way than I think they mean). That said,  I also struggled with whether or not to write out the full context of this verse, starting with verse 9, so I did not write it out. I struggled because it lists out very clearly the type of sins and people who will not inherit God’s Kingdom, including slanderers, drunkards, thieves, adulterers, idol worshippers, and others. Unfortunately, I believe these verses (and others similar to them in the Bible) have been used to justify pulling our love away from certain people who are a large part of our society today. Some people use it as an excuse to exclude and judge others.  I do not believe God intended for us to take this verses and use them for hate and treating others with disdain.  Jesus did not avoid thieves, adulterers, and slanderers during His time walking the earth; in fact, he sought out these children of God and chose to dine with them, heal them, and encourage them.  Why would we do any less for whomever we come into contact with daily?

 I admit, at one time or another in my life, I have been guilty of several of the sins mentioned in these verses, and I have many family members and friends who are in the same imperfect boat with me.  The world is much different than it was in Paul’s time. Much is accepted by our current world that was not accepted back then.  We have to grow with the times and seek God’s guidance in how he would have us to deal with new situations and ways of living, doing, and being that are not so straightforward or easy to understand.  And mostly, what always comes to mind for me when I think of those whose lives are different from mine, whose experiences are different from mine, and even those whose beliefs are different from mine, is that I need to LOVE like Jesus did.  Love covers all.  (Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8)

So, in renewing my mind today, I ask myself, and you too, if you choose to participate…one question, do I love others deeply? No matter who they are, what they have done, or what choices they have made in how to live their lives? Do I love them unconditionally? Or do I quantify my love based on what I’m comfortable with?  I can’t honestly say that I never judge others, and I certainly can’t say I never sin.  So, I am seeking a middle ground, somewhere to start….learning how to love those I normally might be uncomfortable with loving because they are either too different or maybe too similar to me.  J  I choose to start each day from here on out asking God to teach me how to love deeply, and I choose to look forward to the growth and changes this will bring about in my life rather than simply being content to stay in my own little comfort zone, never knowing what could have been if I had just opened myself up to His work in my life and all the opportunities and possibilities that go with surrendering completely. 

March 13, 2016-RTM, Day 8

Today’s Verse:

I am being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

In Context: Living by the Spirit’s Power

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5: 15-20, NLT)

I think we all have days or maybe sometimes even weeks where we feel like we work hard, but are unable to affect any purposeful change. We all have days where disappointment and frustration are the prevailing feelings. This past week was like that for me.  I remember thinking as my mind and talk with others turned from being positive and uplifting to frustrated and disappointed that I was not doing a very good job at renewing my mind daily, and I was certainly not acting like someone filled with the spirit.  That’s why it’s so important for me to come back to the next verse in my RTM series of blog posts, to remind me what is important, to start over this week with a new mindset. 

I like the New Living translation of these verses.  They are very straightforward and clear on what we are to do in order to be filled with the Spirit of God.  Be careful how you live (i.e. LIVE WISELY). Make the MOST of every opportunity.  This world is becoming less and less Christ and church centered, but that doesn’t mean we have to.  We can still be the LIGHT in an ever darkening world.  Don’t ACT THOUGHTLESSLY, even if others around you are doing it every day.  Understand what the Lord wants you to do. That’s where I am at right now, trying to understand EXACTLY what the Lord wants me to do.  One thing I’ve learned from others in this secular world is what He DOESN’T want me to do.  My heart was heavy this week as I watched others being treated carelessly, thoughtlessly, and in a discriminatory manner.  It hurts my heart, and unfortunately, there is very little I can do to change what is happening to them, and that’s what brought my thinking out of alignment, that helpless feeling. I stopped singing and giving thanks.  I became overwhelmed and withdrew instead of stepping up to protect and love, even with those I have a hard time understanding. 

These are the times I need to stop talking and complaining and start praying, asking for what I can do to make a difference, asking what the Lord wants me to do.  I have been told that I can be a “calming force” in a chaotic workplace, but I certainly didn’t succeed at that this week. Maybe that’s what the Lord is training me to do, be that calming force, but somewhere deep inside I still feel there is more. So, I will keep praying, keep asking Him to guide me in being who He wants me to be. I pray for my life to make a difference for others, not for me, but for Him.  And I think that is what Ephesians 5:18 is all about. 

March 7, 2016-RTM, Day 7

Today’s Verse:

I am heir to the blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:13-14).

In Context:

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cured is everyone who is hunt on a tree.” Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14, NLT)

Renewing the mind today and in the context of this verse simply means being thankful for being so blessed.  Living in the land of the free and the brave, I am blessed. Having a roof over my head and leftover food in the fridge from a delicious pork roast dinner, I am blessed. Getting up at 4 in the morning to go to an 8 hour a day steady job for which I receive a paycheck every other week, I am blessed. Looking at the pile of clean laundry on the hope chest next to my bed, I am blessed. Having family and friends all over the world whom I connect with on a regular basis via text messages, e-mail, and social media, I am blessed. Knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior and experiencing faith that has sustained me through many a trial, toil, and snare is just icing on the cake of my 3+ layer stack of blessings! To be told by God that I am entitled to the same blessings He promised Abraham, the same Abraham who trusted God enough to leave his own country for another land and believed so strongly in God’s Sovereignty that he would have sacrificed his own son if God had not stopped him is truly humbling. I don’t deserve the same blessings as Abraham, but according to these verses, I got ‘em.  So today, renewing my mind means not forgetting how blessed I already am and remembering how awesome God is for all that He has done for me so far and what He will continue to do just because of His unconditional and unfathomable love for His creation.