Mind Renovation is a New Show on HGTV

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

Yesterday I posted abut the first section of Romans 12:2 and today I'm focusing on the second part: "but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" This part is all about change. Yup, change.

Transformed means a change of moral character for the better. Renewal means a renovation, complete change for the better. Mind means comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining.

So based on these definitions my perceptions and understandings will change for the better. I like the word renovation. I like HGTV and watching the shows where they do renovations. They take some ugly room or home and change it for the better. Sometimes I don't care for the changes, but I can't deny it is better than it was.

God performed the ultimate renovation on my heart when He choose me to be His. He still is at work at it, but if our heart change was an HGTV series people wouldn't be able to deny the change He has made in our hearts. It is a work in progress. But He doesn't just change our hearts and leaving us with what Joyce Meyers calls "our stinkin' thinkin'". He gives opportunities for our minds to be renovated too.

I also really like that it is about our perceptions and understandings. Perception means the ability to see, hear, and become aware of something through the senses. Understanding means to comprehend. The two can go hand in hand but they are not the same thing. He makes it possible for my morals to change for the better. He makes it possible for my perception to change for the better. He makes it possible for my understanding to change for the better. As those things change my feelings, my judgments, and my determinations change as well. That's really good since my feelings can be off if my perceptions are off, and sometimes they are way off. My judgments can change when I understand more. I might be really determined one way or the other and it is nice to know that as I grow they can change. I can think of instances in my life, some of them quite recent instances, where He has changed my perception and my understanding.

Yes, the verse is about me not being conformed; me renewing my mind; and me being able to determine what the will of God is, but He does it. I have to give permission for God to do the work in me. Sometimes I wish that I would have just shut my mouth and not agreed to Him working, but deep down I'm glad that I did agree. I want to be more like Christ. I want to know His will. I want to know Him.

I hope my renovation HGTV show is a success, because it means that He has changed me for the better.

Butterfly Transformation

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

When you become a follower of Christ you start a process that, hopefully, will continue throughout your life. It is a process of transformation. The process of being transformed from our old, sinful life to becoming more like Christ. The end result of this process is indeed good, but the process certainly doesn't feel good most of the time.

It is very much like becoming a butterfly. We start off the process as a worm looking, caterpillar. Caterpillars are ugly. They crawl around eating leaves. Their movement is slow. There are few people who get excited about seeming a caterpillar, but I believe God loves seeing us in the caterpillar stage. He knows that we don't stay caterpillars.

The next stage of our transformation is in the form of a chrysalis, many call if a cocoon but it is a chrysalis. While in the chrysalis the caterpillar's tissue is broken down and the butterfly body forms. It doesn't seem like much is happening at this stage but big change is actually happening. During this time the caterpillar/butterfly is fragile. It has no way to see danger coming and can't protect itself. The chrysalis is so important to keep the it safe from the elements and from attack. The breaking down process that we go through is hard, painful and we often do not understand it. Thankfully we do not go through this part without protection either. God wraps Himself around us and will not allow us to be destroyed by the anything.

As hard as that stage is the next one is the hardest. This is the stage when the butterfly has to struggle to break free of the chrysalis. It still seems as if nothing is happening and then the chrysalis starts to shake. It is shaking because the butterfly inside is about to emerge. The butterfly struggles to break free and gains strength in the struggle. As a matter of fact, if you try to help the butterfly emerge you will actually kill it because it never gain the strength to use its wings. This is the hardest stage for us as well. We seem to be going along turning from a yucky caterpillar to a butterfly when it becomes time to break free of the protective chrysalis that God has put around us. It's not that He removes his protection from us, but He does want us to break free of the old us. He allows a time of struggle to help us break free of what we used to be to become who He has planned us to be. This struggle helps build strength in us, His strength.

Then it is a butterfly. Its wings need to dry from the fluid from the chrysalis. It only takes about an hour and then the butterfly is able to fly. We have a time after we break out of our chrysalis that we need to wait to fly, but when it's time to fly we take off like the butterfly. God has such a good plan for each of us and He wants us to fly into it.

This transformation has recently taken place in my life and just today the Lord told me that my wings are dry and it's time to fly! I have no idea, really, of where the flight will take me, but I am looking forward to the journey! I know that there will be more caterpillar to butterfly transformation times in my life, but it's okay because I also know "that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."