Spiritual Renewal (Part 3)

"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

Wikipedia defines a neural network as a "population of physically interconnected neurons or a group of disparate neurons whose inputs or signaling targets define a recognizable circuit." Within a human brain hundreds of thousands of neurons are interconnected in a complex “wiring harness” (neural network) that controls all functions of the human body including our behavior.
New scientific discoveries http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081124174909.htm are beginning to show that the brain, specifically these neural networks, may be able to “remodel” itself and potentially change our functional characteristics and behavior! MRI studies of juvenile stroke victims, for example, have shown that the young brain has actually “re-wired” the stroke-damaged areas allowing speech and other faculty losses to be partially or completely recovered. Research using neural networks has also been used to demonstrate how symptoms may arise from breakdowns in normal brain processes in patients with autism, a neuro-developmental disorder in which sufferers have impaired social interactions, deficiencies in verbal and non-verbal communication and inconsistency in cognitive abilities.

These discoveries are exciting for the believer, because they serve to further confirm the truth of the word of God. When Paul says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” we know that our minds can be physically renewed when we drop old habits and replace them with new ones. When we open ourselves to the word of God and are careful to not continue the patterns of our former selves, our minds will actually re-wire itself into a more Christ-like brain! AWESOME!

What scientists are learning now through the use of MRI brain studies is a concept that God gave us in his word. By being obedient to God’s word, consistently and through true repentance from the misbehavior of our lives before accepting Jesus Christ, we can transform ourselves into “new creations” in Christ. As we leave another year behind this scripture gives us hope for real change in the coming year. We can once and for all transform ourselves and “be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will “


My prayer. Father, I pray in earnest in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Deliverer, asking that you create in us a fire to change what is displeasing to you so that through the wonder our created bodies and minds we can truly transform ourselves into “new creations” that may be of better service to You and your Kingdom. Thank you Lord for the gift of our bodies and the ability to take what we have damaged and make it new again! Amen!