Renewing Your Mind - Episode 16 - NewCREEations

Walking in the Spirit. Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 5 that walking in the Spirit is the key to seeing the fruit of the Spirit increase in our lives.

And who wouldn’t want more of that? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If every believer had more of all of those qualities in their lives then our world would be a very different place.

Instead what we see from ourselves far too much of the time are those works of the flesh that Paul talks about in that chapter. Far too often we overflow with hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, and so on.

So how to we walk in the spirit so that we don’t do the works of the flesh?

Majority Rules

Remember, we are three part beings – body, soul, and spirit. When our souls line up in agreement with our bodies we do those works of the flesh. But when our souls come into agreement with our already perfect spirits the fruit of the spirit will appear in our lives almost effortlessly.

Paul says it’s like there’s a war going on between our flesh and our spirits.

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. — Galatians 5:17

It’s two against one, majority rules. Whichever way our souls go wins.

That means the key to walking in the spirit is adjusting our souls. We get that part down then everything else gets easier.

I mean wouldn’t it be wonderful if every time in every situation we responded in perfect harmony with God the Father? For most of us getting to that point would be a massive transformation from what we see in our lives today.

Starting Place is Renewing Our Minds

What do you think it takes to transform our souls? Where do we start?

Fortunately Paul gave us the key in his letter to the Romans.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. — Romans 12:2

The starting place for moving our souls away from the patterns of this world and our flesh and into agreement with our perfect spirits is to renew our minds. One translation says, “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

Bible Study and Relationship

Basically what we want is to start thinking godly thoughts and responding in godly ways. In order to start thinking God thoughts we need to change where we focus our attention.

There’s a truth in the saying that we become like the people we spend the most time with. The only way we’re going to change our thinking patterns is to spend more time in God’s presence learning his thoughts.

The best way to do that is to spend time studying the Bible, because the Bible is God’s Word after all. At the same time we need to take what we read in the Bible back to God himself and let the Holy Spirit teach us the meaning of what we’re reading and how He wants that to transform our own lives.

By doing so we activate a powerful combination in our lives of studying the very words of God coupled with real relationship with Father God. Then we let God and his words change us into his own image.

It takes some effort to slow down and truly seek God. Most of all it takes some time.

But when we are consistent about building time for both of those things in our lives we will change. We’ll be transformed from the inside out. You probably won’t even notice it at first. But eventually you’ll run into something that used to totally rock your world and find you handle it with loving grace you didn’t realize was in you.

Again I like how the Message paraphrases Romans 12:2. Today I’ll leave you with this.

Don’t become so well–adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well–formed maturity in you.