Spiritual Renewal (Part 2)

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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." Romans 12:1-2



Next, Paul tells us that in order to discover the perfect will of God in our lives that we should no longer "conform ...to the pattern of this world.” A pattern is a template or model used to generate things or a theme of events that occur in a repetitious and predictable manner. A pattern, good or bad, is a habit and our world operates in a many predictable patterns.



Greed, gluttony and alcoholism are three prevalent patterns in our world. The average American, rich and poor alike, wants everything in the greatest quantities at the lowest cost even when the material is not needed. Consuming food to excess or eating when in a certain setting such as a baseball game or a movie theater even when not hungry is a common pattern. And drinking alcohol to excess at a New Year's party or stopping off for a beer after work is typical behavior for many people.



Not all habits are harmful and in fact many habits (patterns) are beneficial. A routine creates discipline and helps to minimize errors especially in complex operations. Developing a schedule for a new born baby helps to regulate sleep patterns and bodily functions and eases the workload for new parents. We must take stock in our good and bad habits through the lens of God's Word to measure their benefit to our relationship with our Father.



Paul, is telling the Christians in Rome that when they accepted Christ as their redeemer and received a new heart, it was time to examine the patterns of their world, the old habits they created in their former lives and begin to cast off the bad habits and discontinue them. What was normal behavior before, is probably not acceptable as a believer in Christ. The time is now, Paul says, to be more Christ-like and less self-like!



As the year draws to a close, it is time we take inventory of the patterns of this world that have become our bad habits and stop conforming our lives to those patterns. We must abstain from worldly habits and replace them with Christ-like habits. Change of this magnitude is a process that will not happen overnight, but we cannot grow weary as it will last for the rest of our lives in Christ. Rather, we must start now and let God help us grow into the men and women of God he has called us to be.



My prayer. Father, you know what I struggle with. You know what holds me back from giving myself fully to you. Show me the patterns of this world that I have claimed as my own and have a negative stronghold in my life. Help me today to begin the process of freeing myself from old habits that are displeasing to you. Thank you Lord for granting me this request, in Jesus name, Amen!